1 Introduction
Remote sensing technology application for agriculture (Agro-RS) was introduced to China in the late 1970s. Twenty years on, there more than 200 scientists and technicians through out China works on resources survey, agro-ecological assessment, sown areas, crop condition and disaster monitoring, and yield estimation using remote sensing by Ministry of Agriculture. They have participated in national key projects of Agro-RS, international exchanges, resources and crop monitoring. In 1999, The Center for Remote sensing application of the Ministry of Agriculture organized sub-centers all over China to monitor sown area and production of winter wheat, corn and cotton using satellite remote sensing at national scale. The monitoring results are now a part of the official resources of agricultural information system of the Ministry.
The objective of this paper is to describe the development of a national operational system for crop and resources monitoring using remote sensing in China Ministry of Agriculture.
1.1 Center for Agricultural Remote Sensing Application
The Center for Agricultural Remote Sensing Application operates under the Department of Development Planning, China Ministry of Agriculture. The center is responsible for remote sensing application for agriculture. Its mission is to develop an operational system for agricultural resources, ecology, main crops and disaster monitoring at the national scale for government decision making to support the long-term sustainable development of agriculture in China.
In the tenth five-year Plan period (2001-2005), the operational systems will be set up at the provincial level through out China.
1.2 Organization and mission
The Center for Agricultural Remote Sensing Application is organized by the following four divisions.
- Division of General Operation (in the Institute of Natural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences).
- Division of Technical Training (in the College of Resources and Environmental China University of Agriculture).
- Division of Basic Information ( in the Center for Agricultural Resources Monitoring,
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering)
- Sub-centers for Agricultural Remote Sensing. There are 8 sub-centers all over the China. The responsibilities of each division and sub-center are presented in Table 1.
Table 1 The Sub-centers and monitoring regions
| Region |
Sub-center |
| Southwest China |
Chengdu Sub-center for Agro-RS (Sichuan province) |
| Middle and lower reach Of Yangtse River |
Nanjing Sub-center for Agro-RS (Jiangsu province) |
| Northeast Chian |
Haerbin Sub-center for Agro-RS (Heilongjiang province) |
| Loess Plateau |
North China Sub-center for Agro-RS (Shanxi province) |
| Inner Mongolia and Great Wall area |
Institute of Grassland (Inner Mongolia) Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences |
| Gansu, Xinjiang and Tibet |
Institute of Grassland Ecology (Gansu Province) |
| North China Plain |
Center for Agricultural Resources Monitoring, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering |
| South China |
Institute of Natural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences |
| Ocean Fishery |
Chinese Academy of Aquaculture Sciences |
1.3 Problems
The main problems of agricultural remote sensing application in China are:
- Much of the previous works do not support applications at the national scale;
- Existing technology for operational application at the national scale is inefficient;
- Outdated computer equipment and software for data processing.
2 Prospect
2.1 Demands
China is a large country with 1.2 billion people and the per capita cultivated land is only 1/3 of the world average. Grain production is a national priority for agricultural development. It has an important influence on China's sustainable development, modernization, world food market and the word food security.
China's grain production is characterized by year to year fluctuations. Such variations are related to climate conditions, agricultural science and technology level, and market and investment development. The government needs timely and accurate grain production information for agricultural management and grain market decision making. The present agricultural statistic system of China, however, is incapable of providing such information in time. In addition, the quality of the data is unreliable, depending on the providers' level of training and ability and often subjective. Such a system is not efficient for governments' decision making in a market-driving economic system.
Remote sensing technology with GIS and GPS can provide timely, objective and scientifically reliable data at the national scale. The application of remote sensing for agriculture focuses on four main areas: crop monitoring; (2) resources and ecological monitoring; (3) disaster monitoring and assessment; (4) and precision farming.
