Controls with Remote Sensing of (CAP) Arable and Forage area-based subsidies - a yearly more than 700 images and 3 m euro affair ...

Since 1993, the EC DG Agriculture has promoted the use of "Controls with Remote Sensing" (CwRS) as appropriate control system within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). CwRS is considered suitable to check if agricultural area-based subsidies (yearly > 25 billion euro EC expenditure) are correctly granted. On the basis of the Council Regulation (EC) 165/94 and of the Commission Regulation (EC) 601/94, the Commission Services are required to centralize the satellite images acquisition. This task has been managed by the MARS Project at the JRC since 1999, where the whole controls activity is coordinated. The activity also includes the setting up of specifications, recommendations, performing Quality Controls (QC) and auditing of the selected contractors, and evaluation of new methods. Satellite image acquisition involves the control site definition within each Member State, and the subsequent chain of image acquisition over the defined sites including feasibility with image providers, acquisition, validation, ordering, delivery and final archiving of the imagery. In summary the 2004 years campaign involved a budget of approximately 3.2 M euro to cover some 150 High Resolution (HR) sites and 71 Very High Resolution (VHR) sites. The objective of this paper is to describe the CwRS image acquisition with emphasis on the Ikonos, Quickbird, and EROS A satellites for the 2004 years CwRS Campaign, to give preliminary results, recommendations and future trends.