In a path-breaking development for the tea industry of Assam and West Bengal, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has offered its remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) facilities to tea gardens in the two states.
This would mean accurate availability of critical information and data required by the gardens.
ISRO, in collaboration with Tea Board, launched a pilot project, “Tea Area Development and Management using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS),” on December 7 at Tocklai Tea Research Centre in Jorhat in Upper Assam.
Tea industry sources at the Jorhat workshop told Business Standard that an array of dignitaries from ISRO gave the industry captains first-hand knowledge of the project, which would be the first of its kind in the country.
The project would map tea-growing areas using high-resolution satellite data and carry out site suitability analysis for bringing new areas under the crop.