Crop type maps can become essential evaluation tools. Although they were developed by SALSA for the reference regions of the project, the methodological approach for developing these crop type maps can be replicated in other regions.
First, they can support evaluation by providing the detailed spatial allocation of crops more finely and precisely than CORINE. If linked to the LPIS, the information on crop types will be available for all farmers in an area including beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of various measures. Second, these maps, together with IACS/LPIS data, can be used in the evaluation of specific environmental indicators. For example, they can be used to estimate irrigation water needs which is a good approximation for the PMEF impact indicator I.17 – Reducing pressure on water resources. The image processing of the crop type maps can facilitate the use of geospatial and geostatistical analyses in the evaluation of the CAP.
The crop type map is also a pre-requisite to a claimless system that supports the pre-filling of aid declarations. This is very important because it may lead to a higher level of automised collection of monitoring and, potentially, evaluation data.
A crop type map is also a ready to use monitoring tool for changes in farm structure and specially on land use – crop distribution.
Several conditions may limit the utility and functionality of E.O. used to produce the crop type map. The most critical limitation is the extent of parcels for which there is no definite crop identification. Inconclusive parcels may be due to specific E.O factors such as cloudiness or the prevalence of small parcels or difficulties in producing the algorithms to train and forecast crop type. Another difficulty is related to linking the crop type maps with the LPIS and IACS. The tool's adoption requires adaptation and application of the algorithms and training to recognize the crop types of the region or the MS. Adopting the tool assumes that the IT infrastructure is adequate and that the evaluator can use the data.