Field work will enable soybean mapping in Santa Catarina

Starting on January 30th, technicians from the National Supply Company (Conab) will visit the crops in the producing regions of Santa Catarina to begin mapping work on soybeans in the state. The activity is based on remote sensing, which uses images of the Earth's surface captured by satellite. The work aims to locate on-site visit areas cultivated with soybeans, in addition to collecting information from other crops, on the development and progress of the grain harvest in the state.

The action also intends to improve area estimates and monitoring of the agricultural harvest, with the collaboration of the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) and the Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Company of Santa Catarina (Epagri). The field operation is part of a set of four stages of the general soybean mapping work in Santa Catarina. In the first phase, the process was carried out in an office with the identification of cultivated areas and the selection of checkpoints.

During this stage, Conab teams identify crops in a sample space defined by random draw, followed by remote sensing methodology in collaboration with Inpe and Epagri. The main information collected is based on the registration and geographic location of soybean crops, the identification of other crops and the crop phases.

In total, 26 blocks were drawn in the state, each with 20 points. Of these, only points classified as agricultural cultivation in satellite images will be verified. After this investigation, the mapping and estimation of the area will be consolidated. The expectation is that field work will be completed by March, covering all producing regions in the state.