The IMCASSAR project (IMprovement of the Control of Agricultural Subsidies by SAR-technology) aimed at developing and validating an end-user oriented product and an optimised operational interpretation chain of SAR and optical time series tailored to the remote sensing control of the subsidies for arable and forage areas. The users were the photo-interpreters of Eurosense involved in the operational subsidies control.

The study assessed the contribution of SAR in an integrated SAR / Optical data processing chain for timely crop discrimination. An experimental protocol was designed to take into account the various environmental conditions affecting the SAR performances. This requirement implied selection of different sites with field size, relief and crop diversity constraints.

The project defined a processing chain and a dedicated approach to integrate the SAR images into the current photo interpretation system (CAPI). This approach is original and appears relevant in the operational framework of the controls. However, the analysis of the effective contribution of the SAR image in a context of 3 or 4 optical acquisitions did not justify the use of the SAR CAPI in operational conditions. Future SAR sensors with additional capabilities with respect to ERS-2 and Radarsat-1 may require a re-examination of the effective contribution through the proposed SAR CAPI approach.