ESTIMATION OF PADDY CULTIVATION USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS: BASED ON IMBULPE DIVISIONAL SECRETARIAT DIVISION

Abstract

A preliminary data collection method called "Sample Surveys" is still used to estimate paddy cultivation areas in Sri Lanka. Also, the representation of such data is done only at the district level. But Remote Sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems can be used as an easy and viable alternative to traditional methods of compiling agricultural statistics in response to emerging data needs and overall opportunities for a sector in high demand,such as rice, in modern agriculture. Through this research, a new methodology has been introduced using Remote Sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems to generate statistical data on paddy cultivation areas.Imbulpe Divisional Secretariat division has been used for data collection.According to the technical method, it was found that the paddy cultivation area of Pallewela village is 188.573 acres. The results showed a classification accuracy of 83.33% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.7807. Accordingly, this research will encourage and support the Department of Census and Statistics to adopt satellite pilot-based technology as an alternative to the existing data collection and representation methods, and to present the feasibility of representing such data at the rural level. It aims to educate other researchers and readers that adopting this methodology can improve the quality and timeliness of agricultural statistics, as well as encourage this methodology