Fall/Winter Field Assessment In KZ: Webinar Takeaways
On November 15, EOS Data Analytics, a global provider of AI-powered satellite imagery analytics, and digital business platform provider QOLDAU held a free webinar. The event was dedicated to methods for assessing the condition of agricultural fields in Kazakhstan.
The webinar was focused on how to evaluate fields remotely using weather data and soil moisture information. The guests also learned about EOS Data Analytics, the functionality of the EOSDA Crop Monitoring platform, and the real cases of using it to analyze the country’s agricultural lands.
To access the presentation, follow the link.
Farmers, input suppliers, agricultural consultants, as well as representatives of grain traders, and various agricultural holdings attended the online event.
The following speakers made presentations on the webinar:
- Vitalii Vyshniak, Account Executive at EOS Data Analytics
- Aleksey Kryvobok, Chief Science Officer at EOS Data Analytics
- Kairat Sultanbekov, Precision Agronomist at QOLDAY
The climate of Kazakhstan is mostly dry and characterized by large temperature ranges. Therefore, during fall and winter, when the lands are free of vegetation, such parameters as temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture are examined to assess the condition of the fields.
Two main approaches to measuring these indicators are currently available: satellite and ground-based.
Accurate ground-based measurements require a sufficient number of people on the location, favorable weather, the availability of a sufficient amount of agricultural equipment, and the Internet. Satellite images are taken automatically and provide users with prompt and useful information about the status of fields of any size anywhere in the world.
For remote assessment of the soil condition in the fields, available calculation methods establish the correlation between air temperature and soil temperature at a depth of 3-5 cm. This way, one can find out when the soil freezes, after which precipitation ceases to affect its moisture level.
Before soil freezes, the amount of precipitation in the fall-winter period indirectly shows the moisture reserves in the ground. It characterizes the state of the fields in the pre-sowing period.
Modern satellite technologies also make it possible to assess soil moisture directly in the root layer and thus give a complete assessment of its condition.
Satellite measurements let us analyze large areas, and the use of various sensors allows us to collect various information about the state of crops. As the quality of such technologies improves, more and more farmers are turning to satellite methods to assess the condition of their fields.
QOLDAU clients have been using the EOSDA Crop Monitoring platform for several years to assess the condition of fields in Kazakhstan. More than 121,000 land users have already digitized their arable lands, pastures, hayfields, and plantations for further analysis. In total, this is more than 91 million hectares of land analyzed.
The EOSDA Crop Monitoring platform is visually intuitive, so clients can quickly identify the causes of crop changes in their fields. For example, one of our users only needed to look at a graph of the Vegetation Index over the past four years to see the decline of the soil moisture levels, which explains the reduced rate of plant development.
And while EOSDA Crop Monitoring is a ready-made solution for farmers that allows not only to get plant health maps or various assessments of the condition of fields but also to organize the work of the farm and scouts, other EOS Data Analytics solutions are more specialized.
Seed suppliers, grain traders, and other industry players can access the company’s satellite data through the API to integrate them into their own software solutions or request a customized product that solves their specific problems. Or a business can become an EOSDA partner and use white label solutions, that is, offer the company’s products under their own brand, in order to supply satellite technologies to their customers.
However, every technology gets gradually improved, and so do the satellite methods for assessing the state of fields. To make these methods even more accurate and collect data more frequently, EOSDA plans to launch its own constellation of satellites called EOS SAT. The first satellite will start its operation at the end of 2022, and the project will be fully implemented in 2025.
Prompt assessment of fields during the fall-winter period can be critical in preparation for the next season. Considering the climate aridity of Kazakhstan, the crop yield directly depends on how much moisture was accumulated in the soil during the previous fall and winter. And for thousands of farmers in Kazakhstan, satellite technologies appear to be an indispensable tool in this regard.
About the author:
Rim Elijah joined EOSDA in early 2020. She holds a double degree in business administration and political science from Stockholm University.
Rim is VP of Sales at EOSDA. She is overseeing all aspects of business model development and implementation, maintenance of positive business & customer experience, and the growth of the company’s global coverage. She is responsible for closing deals, scaling up ongoing projects, as well as the development and implementation of process control within the Sales department. Rim also regularly takes part in negotiations with important clients.
So far, Rim has managed to successfully establish a number of strategic partnerships with an emphasis on the delivery of sustainable solutions in various regions of Africa and Asia.
In addition to her main responsibilities, Rim is presently involved in the upcoming launch of the first agri-based satellite constellation by EOSDA, scheduled for mid-2022. She manages relationships with the EOS SAT investors.
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