XXVIII, Part 7B 
In: Wagner W., Székely, B. (eds.): ISPRS TC VII Symposium - 100 Years ISPRS, Vienna, Austria, July 5-7, 2010, IAPRS, Vol. XXXVIII, Part 7B 
535 
CANASAT PROJECT: MONITORING OF THE SUGARCANE CULTIVATION AREA IN 
SOUTH CENTRAL BRAZIL 
Wagner Fernando da Silva \ Daniel Alves de Aguiar ', Bernardo Friedrich Theodor Rudorff', Luciana Miura Sugawara 1 
1 National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Remóte Sensing División (DSR), 
Sao José dos Campos, 12227-010, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. 
{wagner, daniel, bernardo, lmiura}@dsr.inpe.br 
KEYWORDS: expansion of sugarcane, satellite monitoring, TM/Landsat, CCD/CBERS, mapping. 
ABSTRACT 
Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane and ethanol derived from this crop, which is grown in several Brazilian states. The 
Canasat project monitors the area under sugarcane cultivation using remote sensing satellite images. The project has collected data 
since 2003 for the state of Sao Paulo, which is the largest producer in the country, and since 2005 for five other states that altogether 
are responsible for 87% of the Brazilian sugarcane production. The data are available on the Canasat project website and are used by 
several public and private institutions connected to the sugar, ethanol and environmental sectors. The objective of this paper is to 
present the methodology of the Canasat project and to analyze the changes in the areas of sugarcane cultivation in south central 
Brazil from the 2005/06 crop year to the 2009/10 crop year. The total area available for harvest grew by 76.2% between 2005/06 and 
2009/10, reaching 7.43 million ha in the most recent season. All six states showed growth in the area available for harvest each 
season. The state of Goias had the highest total growth rate, while the state of Mato Grosso do Sul was the only state where the 
annual growth rate increased each season. The state of Mato Grosso possesses the smallest area available for annual harvest. The 
state of Sao Paulo showed the largest expansion in sugarcane cultivation area; the western portion of the state was responsible for 
47% of this expansion. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The production of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil began in the 
1970s with the National Ethanol Program, Proalcool. In the 
mid-1990s, production declined because of the low prices paid 
to producers and the international decline in the price of oil 
(Nass et al., 2007). Since 2003, however, the growing 
production of flex-fuel vehicles and the need to reduce 
production of greenhouse gases has rapidly promoted ethanol 
production. Currently, Brazil is the largest producer and 
exporter of sugarcane derivatives (Smeets et al., 2008). 
Information on the production cycle of sugarcane is important 
for the construction of processing facilities and for the 
development of market strategies. Agricultural statistics are 
generally based on data obtained from direct interviews with the 
producers and technicians involved and on credit and financing 
information received from banks, among other sources. This 
process expends considerable time and money. On the other 
hand, time series images acquired through satellite-based 
remote sensing provide information that enables the operational 
monitoring of the production chains of diverse agricultural 
crops, including sugarcane, which has large areas of cultivation 
and an extended cultivation period (Abdell-Rahman and 
Ahmed, 2008). 
Since 2003, the National Institute for Space Research {Instituto 
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciáis - INPE), the Industry 
Sugarcane Association (UNICA), the Center for Advanced 
Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) of the Luiz de Queiróz 
Agricultural School (Esalq/USP) and the Center for Sugarcane 
Technology (CTC), has maintained the Canasat project, which 
monitors areas under sugarcane cultivation using remote 
sensing satellite images and geospatial processing techniques. 
Initially, the state of Sâo Paulo was mapped. In 2005, mapping 
was extended to five other sugarcane-producing states. 
The data generated by the project are made available on the 
website <www.dsr.inpe.br/canasat/eng/> and have been used by 
private and governmental institutions to meet the demands of 
the sugar, ethanol and environmental sectors. Mapping of 
sugarcane producing areas serves as a basis for predicting and 
planning annual harvests and for indentifying environmental 
incompatibilities pertaining to the planting of sugarcane, e.g., 
crops located in permanent preservation areas as defined by the 
Forest Code. 
The maps generated by the Canasat project are also used in 
other activities, such as monitoring harvest methods (with or 
without the burning of straw) and determining land use and 
occupation prior to sugarcane cultivation (Nassar et al., 2008; 
Rudorff et ah, 2009). Availability of the maps at the beginning 
of the season enables users to plan activities related to the sector 
in advance. Images, maps of sugarcane production according to 
various classes and seasons, and locations of facilities are 
shown on the project website. Reports, tables and graphs can be 
obtained or searches performed by town, by state or by season. 
The objective of this paper is to present the methodology used 
by the Canasat project and to analyze the changes in the areas of 
sugarcane cultivation in south central Brazil between 2005/06 
and 2009/10. Analysis of changes in sugarcane cultivation 
during this period enabled the establishment of the spatial 
pattern of occupation and provided input data for dynamic 
spatial models and for the generation of future scenarios for the 
production of sugar and ethanol.