A Study on Estimation of Cassava Area and Production Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems in the Northeast Region of Thailand

Abstract

A study on cassava plantation area and production was conducted in the northeast region of Thailand using an integrated Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Although, SRS and GIS are considered as the efficient tools for resource inventorying and monitoring, little work has been done in Thailand with regards to the large area crop monitoring and production estimation. The objective of the study was to explore the use of NOAA-AVHRR data for mapping cassava plantation areas. GIS was employed to create geographical database, such as soils, topography, land use and also for improving the results of image classification. The study conducted for the two crop seasons of 1995 and 1996 indicated that the NOAA-AVHRR data can be used to map the cassava plantation areas at the regional scale in Thailand. The results of the study were compared with existing cassava statistics produced from the Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) and the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Thailand. The estimated cassava plantation areas from the study were underestimated by -9.7 and -16.4 percent to that of TTDI and OAE, respectively for 1995 and overestimated by 4.0 percent but underestimated by -14.4 percent, respectively for the year 1996.