ERMES · ERMES: 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. 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 in rice mapping and monitoring with SAR/optical data, biophysical parameters retrieval, rice growth and development modelling and meteo variables estimation, 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 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.The maturity of GMES/Copernicus core products and the advent of Sentinel data represent the right framework to develop specific EO based added value products for agriculture sector. In particular the complementary information of Sentinel SAR and Optical data at high resolution will provide a new opportunity to guarantee operational customised information on crop status making regional agro-monitoring feasible and local agro-consulting possible.