On February 6, 2024, we conduted a webinar on rice estimation using earth observation data in Indonesia. The importance of rice data in strategic decision-making related to food security in Indonesia requires the government to be able to provide rice data quickly and accurately. Currently, the rice production is measured by using two field survey activities, namely the Area Sampling Frame Survey (ASF) and the crop-cutting survey. The first survey is conducted to estimate the rice extent, while the last one aims to measure the rice productivity.
The rapid development of Big Data technology provides opportunities for the modernization of business processes in statistical activities, including the potential use of Big Data in agricultural statistics. Remote Sensing (RS) technology, also known as Earth Observation (EO), can be used to capture information on the Earth's surface through satellite imagery, such as land cover, crop types, land cover changes, and more.
The Government of Indonesia has initiated the ‘One Data in Rice’ programme to support the development of a ‘mixed methods’ approach. This approach aims to integrate remote sensing and ground truth data for measuring the phenological phase of rice, which further can be used for estimating the rice extent. Furthermore, the approach also helps the decision makers in ensuring the data availability at the right timeliness, handling the non-response, while achieving cost-effectiveness goals.
ESCAP is providing technical support and guidance to BPS-Statistics Indonesia in this area through the project “The 2030 Data Decade – Strengthening the institutional capacity of national statistical offices in Asia and the Pacific to use innovative, new and big data sources for official statistics in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which is funded through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sub-fund of the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF). This project is supporting national statistical offices in Asia and the Pacific to leverage innovative data sources, tools and methods for the streamlined production and use of better, more timely data for official statistics.
The specific objectives of this webinar include:
- Increasing awareness of the latest developments in the use of EO for the phenological phase of rice in Indonesia.
- Providing an initial opportunity for feedback from leading experts on developments to date and guidance on potential next steps in refining the mixed methods approach.
- Informing detailed plans for in-person technical support to Indonesia to be provided under ESCAP’s Big Data Project.
This webinar was moderated by Eric Deeben as Chief Technical Advisor Consultant, Big Data Project, Statistics Division, ESCAP. Mrs. Erni Tri Astuti as Director of Polytechnic of Statistics-STIS on behalf of Regional Data Hub Secretary gave opening remarks. Webinar material was delivered by many expert from Statistics Indonesia, ESCAP Statistics Division, and UN Global Statistical Center on Big Data, China. The last, Ms. Ayodele Marshall from ESCAP Statistics Division gave the closing speech. Table below shows us the detailed agenda.
| Agenda item | Speaker | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Opening and Welcome | Mrs. Erni Tri Astuti Mr. Sarpono | 14:00 – 14:05 |
| Background to ESCAP Big Data Project | Mr. Richard Tonkin ESCAP Statistics Division | 14:05 – 14:10 |
| Presentation Development of remote sensing model for the phenological phase of rice | Ms. Wida Widiastuti and team BPS Statistics Indonesia | 14:10 – 14:35 |
| Inputs from invited experts | Mr. Lorenzo Di Simone FAO University of New South Wales UN Global Statistical Center on Big Data, China | 14:35 – 15:05 |
| Discussion | All | 15:05 – 15:25 |
| Closing | Ms. Ayodele Marshall ESCAP Statistics Division | 15:25 – 15:30 |
