An Earth obseRvation Model based RicE information Service

ERMES (An Earth obseRvation Model based RicE information Service) aims to develop a prototype of downstream service dedicated to rice sector based on assimilation of EO and in situ data within crop yield modelling.

website: http://www.ermes-fp7space.eu/

The objective of this service, targeted to European needs, is to:

a)contribute to the regional authorities in the implementation of agro-environmental policies;

b)support farming activities for sustainable management practices;

c)provide independent reliable information to the agro-business sector.

The long term goal is to extend and adapt the service to Asian and African markets, in order to boost European competitiveness and contribute to a sustainable development.

On the base of previous experience of the consortium partners, two services are foreseen:

Regional Rice Service (RRS) to provide to public authorities a customized agro-monitoring system devoted to regional yield estimates and risk/damage alarming. Digital maps and bulletin will be disseminated via web through INSPIRE compliant geo-portal;

Local Rice Service (LRS) to provide to the private sector (farmers and agro-services and insurance companies) high level information on yield variability, risk alert and crop damage assessment at farm scale. Advanced smart technologies will be used to receive in-situ observations from the user, to be ingested in crop model, and to disseminate customised information to them.

Funding body: European Union - FP7 SPACE

Prime contractor: IREA

Period of activity: 2014 - 2016

IREA project manager: Mirco Boschetti

Research topic: Optical Remote Sensing