We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

ADB study compares agricultural land measurements using GPS and satellite data

ADB study compares agricultural land measurements using GPS and satellite data

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently released
a working paper comparing land measurement through Global Positioning System,
Self-Reports, and Satellite Data.

The authors explain that timely, cost-effective, and
high-quality land measurement data through national statistical reporting playds
an important role in the formulation of policies targeting poverty reduction,
agricultural growth, and the welfare of agricultural households.

The compass-and-rope method is an option for land
measurement where two or three people measure the area of a plot using tools
such as calculator, compass, measuring tape, and ranging poles. It is accurate
but labour-intensive.

The most common land area measurement technique is farmer
self-reporting because it enables inexpensive collection of information from a
single question. However, the data from self-reporting has been shown to vary
significantly from more accurate estimates derived from Global Positioning
System (GPS).

However, GPS still requires walking along the boundary of a
plot with a GPS device to obtain an area estimate, introducing significant time
and financial costs. The paper proposes using Google Earth instead for land
area measurement. In the case of Google Earth, the physical map can be scanned
and overlaid with the actual Google Earth image, and the plot boundaries can
then be retraced to create a new digitized plot boundary to compute plot area.

The study was conducted in four pilot provinces in four
countries: Savannakhet Province (Lao PDR), Nueva Ecija Province (Philippines),
Ang Thong Province (Thailand), and Thai Binh Province (Viet Nam). The four were
selected as part of a technical assistance (TA) project of the ADB to promote
the use of satellite-based technology in estimating rice area and production.

Both improvements in data quality and implementation costs were
taken into consideration for evaluating the survey methods.

The study compared Google estimates to GPS estimates, finding
few statistically significant differences between these two measures in all
countries, with the exception of Vietnam, where a a difference of 16.4 percentage
points was observed. The researchers say that the deviations may occur either
because of GPS measurement or Google measurement and be of larger magnitude because
plot sizes are small in Vietnam.

The fixed cost associated with procuring GIS software needed
to calculate area from GPS instruments or Google Earth images was zero in the
study as the researchers used a freely available and open source platform
called QGIS (previously known as Quantum GIS). However, variable costs per plot
would likely be different between GPS and Google methods.

So, the researchers considered four components of variable
costs: plot boundary mapping, printing of paper maps versus procuring GPS
instruments, farmer compensation, and consultancy fees.

They arrived at an estimated cost of $16.46 per plot for GPS
and $10.27 in the case of Google Earth, a 37.61% reduction. The paper notes
that for a survey with 4,000 plots, which is typical of multi-topic
agricultural surveys such as the Living Standards Measurement Study of the
World Bank, the cost savings from using Google Earth with the study’s cost
structure would be $6.19 x 4,000 = $24,760.

Since the differences between Google and GPS measures are
not statistically significant, while cost differences are, Google Earth images
could provide a viable alternative land measurement technique. The paper also notes
that as remotely sensed data becomes publicly available, it may become a less
expensive alternative to link to survey data than rely on GPS measurement.

Read the paper here.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Send this to a friend