Farmers’ lands are monitored by satellite

From January 1, 2023, farmers and their farmlands will be monitored in real-time through satellite imagery. This new surveillance system was decided by the European Commission. The objective is to strengthen the control of exploited parcels declared by farmers in their PAC notification every year. (Common Agricultural Policy).

“This new instructional tool consists of comparing sentinel images provided by the European Copernicus project with PAC declarations submitted by farmers to determine the presence of agricultural activity and a cover eligible for assistance,” states the province in a press release. Satellite tracking can help verify that operators’ announcements are consistent and accurate. If no inconsistencies (most files) are detected in the analysis carried out, the surface notification will be processed without a request for farmer intervention.

On the other hand, if the processing of satellite images detects discrepancies with the operator’s declaration, an alert is sent to him to call him to correct his declaration.

Tests were conducted this summer

A separate application will be provided to farmers. This is Telepak Geophoto. This will allow them to communicate geolocated and authenticated photographs of their lands. This application guides the operator in taking photos at specific locations and then sending the photos to management. The photographs are then processed and analyzed.

The exams will be conducted from July 1 to August 31. Farmers are invited to participate in these trials by clicking this link. The selected operators will be contacted by phone and emailed to inform them of the procedure to be followed.

This email will specify the procedure for downloading the mobile application and its terms of use. The operator will have 15 days to send the photos through the app.