RIICE – When, Where, How much

Seasonal rice cultivated area and phenology are monitored along the entire season using data systematically acquired by satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems. Coupled with a rice growth model, such remotely sensed data predicts rice yield starting from mid of season, estimate yield at actual harvest time and regularly deliver updated information on the rice production situation. The service – operated by national partners after a know-how transfer phase – has been widely validated in the most diverse rice ecosystems with accuracy rates of around 90%.

Where RIICE is used?

Collectively, RIICE monitored around 12 million hectares of rice cultivated land in Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, and Thailand. From the technological proof of concept stage, RIICE has been progressing to the implementation and upscaling phase by institutionalizing its technology solution with ministries and, in some countries, with insurance actors. The Philippines government for example has made substantial investment to move to a national-scale monitoring system which is based on RIICE technology, while insurers in the state of Tamil Nadu use RIICE technology for loss assessments after natural disasters within the governmental crop insurance scheme. With agreements with national ministries in place, the RIICE technology contributes to new rice insurance schemes, such as for example in Vietnam and Cambodia. In Vietnam, RIICE is being considered to be an instrumental data source for the national agricultural insurance scheme.

RIICE technology is continuously evolving by integrating data acquired from new satellite systems, drone data, and by adapting and customizing the service according to countries’ and insurers’ specific needs. The standard product suite consists of:

• • Baseline maps, i.e. Agricultural and rice area and rice ecosystem zoning;

   

  • Seasonal area, seasonal phenology and bio-physical parameters;

   

  • Seasonal yield forecast and yield estimation at harvest time;

   

  • Flood and drought related rice damage maps.