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EU auditors are looking at how member states are making use of enhanced satellite monitoring for farm inspections.
The EU-owned Copernicus satellite provides higher definition imagery of “agricultural activity taking place on the parcel”.
This includes being able to differentiate whether ploughing or mowing is taking place in a field and the ability to classify different crop types.
More comprehensive
Auditors believe that the technology should be used more widely because it is more comprehensive and cost effective in comparison with drone technology.
Some 5% of CAP recipients receive inspections every year and the European Commission reported that a total of 900,000 on-the-spot checks are carried out across the EU.
Of those, 80% are performed using remote sensing technology, but the percentage of satellite inspections varies by country.
Last year, the Department of Agriculture confirmed that 90% of the 8,000 land-eligibility inspections required as part of EU regulations would be conducted by satellite inspection.
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