Azhar Ishak
Director – Agro-Meteorological Section
Malaysian Meteorological Department
Malaysia


Bio
Azhar bin Ishak is a Meteorologist, currently heading the Weather Modification Division in Malaysian Meteorological Department. He holds a BSc(Hons) in Physics from University of Malaya, MSc (RS/GIS) from UPM. He is also a PhD graduate student in RS/GIS from UPM. He has 31 years’ experience in Agrometeorology / Climatology / Remote Sensing & GIS / Weather Forecasting and Modification.

Abstract
Land Use Change of Forest to Oil Palm 2004-2008 in Peninsular Malaysia: The Impact of Agricultural Cropland Conversion International organizations, environmental campaigners and NGOs are greatly concerned about the on-going expansion of oil palm plantations in the tropics, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, and are debating upon the sustainability of oil palm cultivation. Using SPOT 5 satellite imagery with 2.5m spatial resolution, oil palm planted areas in 2008 were overlaid using GIS intersection (n) spatial analysis with oil palm, forest areas, water bodies and agricultural cropland in 2004 to derive information on areas of land use change (LUC) that had been converted to oil palm cultivation. Results indicate that on the whole, 167,432 ha or 2.1% of total forest areas in Peninsular Malaysia were converted to oil palm while 130,012ha or 5.4% of total agricultural cropland were replaced by oil palm cultivation. The significant increase in oil palm planted areas in Peninsular Malaysia and the significant agricultural cropland replacement with oil palm between 2004 and 2008 indicates that the increase in oil palm cultivation areas was not only due to conversion of forest alone but was also due to the conversion of other agricultural cropland such as rubber, cocoa, coconut and minor cropland. The detailed spatial determination of the actual number of hectares of forest being converted into oil palm at state levels in Peninsular Malaysia, and the kinds of agricultural cropland that were converted to oil palm provides information on how LUC of forest had taken place sustainably. This information is useful to land use policy makers, oil palm planters, palm oil industries, relevant government agencies, present and future stake holders to strategically plan and manage oil palm grown in Malaysia via sustainable oil palm expansion policies.

Dr. Lam Dao Nguyen
Director – GIS and RS Research Centre, HCMC Institute of Resources Geography
Vietnam

Bio
Nguyen Lam-Dao received the Engineering degree in Geodesy from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam; M.E. degree in Remote sensing and GIS from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and PhD. degree on radar remote sensing of vegetation at University of Southern Queensland, Australia and Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City. In 1990 he joined the Center for Space Physics and Remote Sensing Technology in Vietnam. The current name of Center is GIS and Remote Sensing Research Center (GIRS) – HoChiMinh City Institute of Resources Geography (HCMIRG) – Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). His research interests include experimental analysis and image processing toward applications.

Abstract
Rice yield estimation in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam using ENVISAT ASAR and TerraSAR-X data Vietnam is one of largest world rice exporters since the mid-1990s and the fifth rice producer. At the southern tip of Vietnam, the fertile Mekong Delta accounts for more than half of the country’s rice production. Moreover, the Vietnamese people are among the world’s top five rice consumers. Therefore, the rice-growing areas in the Mekong Delta were chosen for rice monitoring using remote sensing technology. However, Vietnam is in the tropics, often clouded over, so it affected quality of remote sensing images collected by optical remote sensors. Radar remote sensing is able to overcome this limitation and allows to obtainimages at any time of the year. Rice yield estimation using an agro-meteorological model had been studied for rice growing areas in SocTrang province using ERS2-SAR acquired in 1997. In recent years, the changes in cultural practices have impacts on remote sensing methods developed for rice monitoring. The paper presents research results of rice monitoring using radar remote sensing data collected at different rice-growing stages such as ENVISAT-ASAR in 2007 and TerraSAR-X in 2010-2011. These data were used for estimating the production of rice growing areas in An Giang province and Can Tho city using a statistical model. The results are quite good and prove to be a potential tool for rice production estimation in the Mekong Delta.

Raymond De Lai
Centre Manager
Herbert Resource Information Centre
Australia

Bio
Raymond De Lai is the Centre Manager of the Herbert Resource Information Centre (HRIC), located in Ingham, North Queensland, Australia. Raymond is an experienced spatial information systems manager with qualifications in GIS and Management. The HRIC is a highly successful collaborative community partnership that aims to improve the quality of decision-making in the Ingham sugar community through:

• improving access to relevant and reliable information;
• improving the capacity for the community to use that information; and
• identifying opportunities for working together across the community.

The HRIC has established a successful enterprise GIS solution. Today Raymond will be presenting on the use of GIS, and how to create and capture value from GIS, in agricultural supply chain management

Abstract
Creating and Capturing Business Value in Agricultural Supply Chain Management using Location Based Technologies Agricultural supply chain management involves a series of complex relationships and trade-offs to achieve efficiencies. Using location based technology and data allows the business manager to identify areas of constraint and bottlenecks that can be addressed through strategic data-driven decisions. The Herbert Resource Information Centre (HRIC) is a partnership based GIS organisation that delivers services to our Australian sugar industry partners in northern Australia. The HRIC has a long history of working with sugar industry stakeholders to utilise location based technology to drive improved efficiency and productivity leading to greater business and industry profitability. The HRIC has developed tools and services that allow for the visualisation and monitoring in real-time of sugar cane harvesting using Enterprise GIS platform. Using experience and knowledge gained from using location based technologies in the sugar industry, HRIC has extended services into the wine grape industry of Australia, in partnership with Treasury Wine Estates. A pilot project was established in the McLaren Vale winegrowing region of South Australia for the 2013 vintage. Using location based technology for supply chain improvement, both real-time visualisation and though data mining, will lead to readably attainable productivity improvements, improved stakeholder engagement and efficiency gains across the entire agricultural supply chain. This presentation will provide examples from the Australian sugar and wine grape industries on how business value can be created and captured using location based technology in agricultural supply chain management.

Prof. Dr. R. Sivasamy
Head of Remote Sensing and GIS Department, Directorateof Natural Resource Management
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
India

Bio
Dr.RamasamySivasamy has 30 years’ experience in agricultural soil science and RS & GIS. He began his career in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University as Assistant Professor (Soil Science) in 1983, teaching soil science subjects under UG program in agriculture; and conducting research on water and nutrient interaction and herbicide residue in rice ecosystem. He was promoted to Associate Professor (Soil Science) in 1997, and later full Professorship in 2002. Currently he heads the RS & GIS Department, where his responsibility includes planning, facilitating and monitoring the development of the Department. He also teaches remote sensing and GIS under PG program in agriculture and agricultural engineering; and conducting research on soil resources evaluation using remote sensing and GIS techniques.

Abstract
Agro-Informatics and Precision Farming: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Experience Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India embraced ICT and Geospatial Technologies since the beginning of new millennium for the development of agricultural education, technology transfer and to enhance agricultural production in the State of Tamil Nadu. An Agritech portal has been developed with five lakh and more pages of very useful content and received the ‘Best e-Governance Award’ for the year 2011-12. The portal provides technologies for crop production, animal husbandry, and advisory services on marketing, weather and price forecasting. The Weather Watch Group gathers hourly meteorological data from the Automatic Weather Stations all over the state and in collaboration with Indian Meteorological Department makes medium range weather forecast for the farmers to take decisions on farm operations. The portal is updated on daily basis and visited by thousands of farmers, technologists, administrators, extension personnel, naturalist and people alike. The importance of Geospatial Technology for agricultural development has long been recognized by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The initial works encompassed: soil resource inventory and land evaluation for selected watersheds in Tamil Nadu under Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development which was conceptualized and supported by National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO; crop growth and yield modelling, varietal discrimination and nutrient monitoring using ground based remote sensing; mapping of water logged areas in a reservoir command; mapping gypsum mined areas and rehabilitation; developing village level action plan using GIS. The future plan of this department includes developing a geodatabase on farmers’ baseline information and soil health monitoring.

Arnel De Mesa
Deputy Director - Mindanao Rural Development Program
Department of Agriculture
Philippines

Bio
Arnel De Mesa is the Deputy Program Director of the Mindanao Rural Development Program, a special project of the Department of Agriculture in Mindanao. At the same time he serves as the Regional Technical Director (RTD) for the Davao region also in Mindanao. As the program manager of MRDP in the past 10 years, he has contributed greatly to the development of many areas in the Mindanao region, which used to have problems of underdevelopment, poverty and issues on peace and order. Being the manager of the extensively implemented development program, he has introduced innovative program management tools among them is the effective use of the Geotagging technology cited recently by the national government and the World Bank. He is one of the youngest and brilliant managers of the Philippines leading the agri-fishery sector development. He is an agricultural engineer by profession and among the country’s top 10 engineers in the 1996 agricultural engineering licensure exam. He graduated from the University of The Philippines - Los Banos Campus in 1996.

Abstract
Tools for Integrating Soil/Land Resources and Climate Change Variables in Decision-Making Application to Development Projects: The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) is a national program designed to establish the government’s platform for a modern, climate-smart and market-oriented agri-fishery sector while institutionalizing reforms for improved operations in the DA bureaucracy. PRDP’s design primarily considers implementation lessons, gaps, and gains of DA’s preceding development programs, particularly the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), which has achieved outstanding performance in espousing accountability, transparency and good governance.The application of geomapping as a spatial technique used to represent geographical data (i.e. agricultural patterns, crop production, land suitability) and enables interactive visual mapping that displays data on a map aids in targeting and prioritizing development interventions. In PRDP, the tool is essential for Value Chain Analysis (VCA) to determine whether priority agricultural commodities are within the value chain that is viable for investment. Geotagging, launched by MRDP in 2011, is an innovative and cost-efficient application of ICT which is the process of associating digital resource (photos, videos, etc.) with geographic and location information with high degree of precision. The tool that is Google Earth-based facilitates easy and accurate locations of infrastructure, livelihood and agri-fishery facilities on a map. Compilations of these geotag sequences create a web-based mapping system that depicts the overall development impact of agricultural intervention.

Dr.Jibanananda Roy
Consultant-Agriculture and Forestry
SkyMap Global
Singapore

Bio
Dr.Jibanananda Roy spent 14 years as a scientist at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). He was responsible for development of GIS and Remote Sensing applications in agriculture, forestry, plantation and sustainable development. He was the Team Leader for the development of National Resource Information System, and a Member of Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development. During his time in ISRO until present, he has conducted trainings in field of remote sensing application and development within ISRO, Government of India and State Government in India. He is also a reviewer and examiner of Doctoral Thesis and Post Graduate dissertation. He was appointed as a Consultant for agriculture and forestry at SkyMap Global starting this year.

Abstract
Application of Remote Sensing for smart Agriculture Unplanned agricultural practices, overuse of natural resources and unscientific use of chemicals & fertilizers may not only reduce the crop production, but it would certainly degrade the land and environment, create ecological imbalances and affect the natural flora and fauna. For a long term, eco-friendly and sustainable model, several parameters related to crop yield, productivity and environment are required to be analyzed. Continuous crop growth monitoring and effective corrective action plan must be implemented for optimal land utilization, long term benefit and a better environment. With the advent of Satellite Remote Sensing and rapid development of related technologies to monitor and analyze vast area of land from the sky, effective and optimal models can be developed for a large geographical region. Satellite Remote Sensing data with capability to record images of the earth at different resolutions in spatial as well as temporal mode using multispectral sensors have found wide applications where large areas needed to be monitored and analyzed. Use of limited field measurements coupled with ancillary information can effectively perform yield prediction and crop growth monitoring.Based on the satellite imaging characteristics, various models and approaches for crop yield analysis can be established. A short term cropping practice may show immediate result but one must consider a long term sustainable approach. Continuous crop-health monitoring and yield prediction using satellite images-optical and Radar, field survey data and ancillary information can be effectively applied for productivity analysis, agricultural zoning, crop growth monitoring, yield prediction and finally a sustainable development plan.

Dr. M. Lorraine Tighe
Director, Geospatial Solutions
Intermap Technologies
USA


Bio
Dr. Tighe has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences, a Graduate Diploma in Remote Sensing, and a B.Sc. in Physics/Geology. She has delivered lectures training program in USA, Canada, Jamaica, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, England, Scotland, Poland, Germany, Amsterdam, Spain, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, China, Turkey, and Australia. Dr. Tighe is currently the Director, Geospatial Solutions at Intermap ensuring that the NEXTMap product line is meeting customer needs.

Mark Heyward
Regional Manager - APAC (Agriculture Division)
Trimble Navigation
Australia


Bio
Mr. Mark Heyward, Asia Pacific Regional Manager – Agriculture Division, Trimble Navigation Ltd. Mr. Heyward has worked in the precision agriculture industry for almost 15 years with various multinational machinery and equipment manufacturers, and the last 7 years with Trimble Navigation’s Agriculture Division

Abstract
"Precision Agriculture adoption trends across Asia"
Precision Agriculture is defined as putting the right input, in the right place, at the right time, in the right amount. Accurate geospatial positioning is the fundamental enabler for the technology that supports precision agriculture. The use of these technologies is prolific across North America, Europe and Australia at every level of farming, while the adoption in Asia has been at a more reserved pace. Mr. Heyward will present some existing examples of precision agriculture applications in Asia, identify how the technology could be used to address specific regional issues, and categorize some of the unique adoption barriers. The presentation will also address the subsequent environmental benefits that come from practices such as Controlled Traffic Farming, aided by the use of accurate GNSS solutions.

Dr. Tuong Thuy Vu
Associate Professor
Open-source Geospatial Research Lab
School of Geography
University of Nottingham
Malaysia

Bio
Dr Tuong Thuy Vu is Associate Professor and Head of the Open-Source Geospatial Research Lab, School of Geography, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. Dr Vu has over 10-year teaching and research experience in the field. He obtained his PhD in Geoinformatics in 2003 and spent 5-years postdoctoral research in Japan. In 2008-2010, he was a lecturer of Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden before joining University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in 2011. He’s currently leading and participating in a number of research projects developing open-source geospatial solutions for various applications including disaster management, urban environment and agriculture.

Abstract
Geospatial Data Collection for Agricultural Researches
Open-Source Geospatial Research Lab (OSGEO-UNMC) was established at University of Nottingham, Malaysia campus in early 2012 aiming at promoting research and education using open-source geospatial technologies. In collaboration with various partners, we have introduced open-source geospatial technologies into different applications including disaster management, urban development, and agricultural researches and practices. In this presentation, we inform our current research activities in location-based crowd-sourcing data collection and development of UAV intercropping systems, which link to the researches on underutilised crops at Crops For the Future Research Centre (CFFRC). Among various aspects of researches on underutilised crops, CFFRC research programmes aims at developing an underutilised crops knowledge-based system and promoting the growth of valuable underutilised crops in the intercropping systems. In assisting the former, the first presenting project looks into the quality issues of crowd-sourced location-based data, expected to be collected from various groups of people and fed into CFFRC knowledge-based system. We propose a two-way interactive validation mechanism with the aid of authoritative data. On the other hand, the second project aims at assisting the intercropping researches and practices. Recently, UAV emerges as a promising cheap and on-demand remote sensing platform which is useful in a cloud-prone country like Malaysia. Importantly, UAV enables the mapping at required very high resolution data and on-demand monitoring mission during the growing season. In this project, in addition to building the suitable UAV platform, we also develop associated data analysis package to serve this particular intercropping system. Agricultural application is the newest area that OSGEO-UNMC is developing in the context of global concerns for food security and climate change.

Mark Heyward
Regional Manager - APAC (Agriculture Division)
Trimble Navigation
Australia


Bio
Mark Heyward has worked in the precision agriculture industry for almost 15 years with various multinational machinery and equipment manufacturers, and the last 7 years with Trimble Navigation’s Agriculture Division.

Abstract
Precision Agriculture Adoption Trends across Asia Precision Agriculture is defined as putting the right input, in the right place, at the right time, in the right amount. Accurate geospatial positioning is the fundamental enabler for the technology that supports precision agriculture. The use of these technologies is prolific across North America, Europe and Australia at every level of farming, while the adoption in Asia has been at a more reserved pace. Mr. Heyward will present some existing examples of precision agriculture applications in Asia, identify how the technology could be used to address specific regional issues, and categorize some of the unique adoption barriers. The presentation will also address the subsequent environmental benefits that come from practices such as Controlled Traffic Farming, aided by the use of accurate GNSS solutions.

Dr. Shinichi Sobue
General Manager - Planning Department
Remote Sensing Technology Center
Japan



Bio
Shin-ichiSobue Takashima got a master degree of engineering from Toyohashi university of Technology in Japan in 1989 and got a philosophical doctor of engineering from Kennedy-Western University in USA in 2000. His major is image data analysis of earth observation data. He is a general Manager of planning department of Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), acting as a point of contact of Asia rice crop monitoring team of Group on Earth observation satellites – Global Agriculture monitoring (GEO GLAM). From 2009 to 2013, he managed earth observation research work in Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Tsukuba and assigned to work for RESTEC from April 2013 under personnel exchange agreement.

Abstract
Asia-RiCE Crop Team Activity in GEO Global Agriculture Monitoring
Group on Earth observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEO-GLAM) was developed in response to the G20 Agricultural Ministers’ concern about market volatility for the world’s four major crops - wheat, maize, soybeans and rice. Since Asian countries are responsible for approximately 90% of the world’s rice production and consumption, rice is the most significant cereal crop in Asia. Space agencies with ministry of agriculture in Asia launched Asia-RiCE (Asia Rice Crop Estimation & Monitoring) team activity as a component for GEO-GLAM. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) led to develop a work plan of this Asia-RiCE and operate this team homepage. From this year, GEO-GLAM project started to implement phase 1 to proof of concept in selected countries. In Asia rice team, each country set technical demonstration site (main paddy field province) with about 100km x 100km square to estimate paddy field area and yield estimation using SAR and other earth observation data with ground based observation and statically information. Especially, for phase 1, we selected Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam as phase 1 countries to implement paddy field area and yield estimation. In addition with that crop area and yield estimation, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) requested GEO-GLAM to provide crop growth outlook of 4 commodity crops using space technology. Asia-RiCE team also prepares to provide such outlook information for rice using agro-meteorological information derived from earth observation satellite with experts. This presentation provides an overview of Asia-RiCE, phase 1 implementation and outlook activity.

Abdul Rashid Mohamed Shariff
Associate Professor
Institute of Advanced Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Malaysia

Bio
Abdul Rashidis the Head of Spatial and Numerical Modeling Laboratory under Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He holds a PhD in Spatial Information Science and Engineering from University of Maine, USA and MSc in Cadastre and Land Management from University of East London, UK. Currently, he is teaching GIS and Precision Farming in Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Abstract
GNSS Teaching and Research at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
This presentations outlines the development of the formal teaching of GNSS at the undergraduate and post graduate levels at the theUniversiti Putra Malaysia, focusing in particular on the activities at the Faculty of Engineering, UPM. It then highlights the use of GNSS at various selected research projects. The main focus will be on agricultural and precision farming based projects. The challenges in carrying out these projects and the benefits of these projects will be highlighted. This presentation will be useful to the industry, government, academicians and students.