Indian farmers in the State of Haryana have protested the use of satellite images for insurance pay-outs, with crop yield assessments through government satellite imagery cutting claims by over 20% compared to traditional crop estimation methods.
According to the farmers, their 2023 losses assessed under long-established Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) were around Rs450 crore ($51 million); but state-run crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), using satellite data from the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) under the Haryana government, has agreed to pay only Rs350 crore ($40 million).
The farmers complain the state government ordered in 2023 that claims under PMFBY be settled on the basis of old-fashioned CCEs, not satellite imagery.
According to local reports, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has raised the issue of alleged irregularities in farmers’ crop insurance claims in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri districts by writing to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini after receiving a representation from affected farmers.
Satellite distrust
Satellite imagery is likely not the key source of frustration for farmers, with PMFBY proving controversial in India since its launch, with high premiums and accusations of poor administration.
Nevertheless, the farmers’ strike does raise the question of satellite technology in agriculture. Satellites are already widely distrusted in Indian fields: farmers and local officials in the region and in the State of Punjab had previously been accused of waiting for monitoring satellites to pass before illegally burning field stubble, thus evading detection under the Indian government’s Commission for Air Quality Management programme, according to The Hindu.
“This year also a government official came to check farm fires and the farmers sort of surrounded him. Then he told us that ‘char bhaje ke baat satellite nahi chalta’ (the satellite doesn’t pass over the areas after 4 pm) and indicated us to burn after it,” a farmer told The Hindu reporter.
Analysts say widespread distrust of satellites, exacerbated by real financial impacts on farmers’ insurance claims, could impinge on the commercial benefits of accurate satellite imaging to agriculture.
McKinsey reports just 9% adoption of AgTech in Asia, with farm automation and robotics the most popular use-case. This compares to over 60% in Europe and North America, where satellites are the foundation for full farm-management and remote sensing operations.
As such, space-based AgTech could be a double-edged sword for Asian farmers, with great potential for improving yields and crop choices yet with, right now, satellite technology clearly likely to favour insurance firms as a more accurate tool over the scale of crop failures.
Satellite imaging is fast becoming extremely reliable and accurate in monitoring insurance risks: US satellite firm ICEYE, for example, recently won a Business Insurance award at the 2025 US Insurance Awards for its Wildfire Insights delivering high-precision data to emergency services during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
The firm says its systems provided emergency services with crucial data within 24 hours of smoke first being detected, predicting 4,653 buildings destroyed in the Palisades Fire and offering an unheard-of 99% precision rate against data from fire services subsequent ground inspections.
Those systems use microwave technology to see through smoke, clouds and darkness while other observation assets such as helicopters and drones are grounded.
And while this tech has obvious applications to also benefit farmers in Asia as much as loss-adjusters and emergency services in California, those tilling the Haryana fields hearing rumours of satellites that can now see through smoke may have different opinions: a public relations challenge the satellite industry may have to address, say industry observers.
