Remote Sensing Helping In Padi Planting And Landing More Fish

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Remote sensing technology is being used by more than 30,000 fishermen in the country to locate large shoals of fish.PUTRAJAYA: Remote sensing technology is allowing fishermen to know the location of shoals of fish, help plan effective padi planting and dealing with natural disasters.
The Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) said it offered potential for greater economic innovation and prosperity with its ability to collect information on the earth’s surface from an altitude of 500-600km in space.
Bernama reported that remote sensing had been used in providing accurate fishing location information to 30,161 fishermen nationwide.
Information on this technology is shared with the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM), the National Fishermen’s Association (Nekmat) and the Fisheries Department.
This has been able to increase the total catches of deep-sea fishermen by up to 50% and reduce fish imports by up to 40%.
MYSA said this in a statement issued today in conjunction with the visit of deputy science, technology and innovation minister Ahmad Amzad Hashim, who held discussions with its director-general, Azlikamil Napiah, yesterday.
It said the adoption of the space remote sensing technology in the management of 12 areas nationwide had helped the agriculture department monitor padi planting. This had helped save up to 30% on fertiliser and pesticide subsidies.
MYSA said this initiative involved 37,916 padi farmers. It also covered the padi cultivation area in the North Terengganu Integrated Agricultural Development Area (Iada Ketara) in Besut, Terengganu.
The technology is also highly applicable in the management of land systematically, it added.
“This technology is capable of detecting any land-clearing activities, coastal erosion and any encroachment.”
This technology can also assist in managing disasters, including floods, landslides and environmental pollution, and detect open fires. - FMT

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