One of the most outstanding aspects of this study is that we designed the tool in collaboration with two agricultural cooperatives in Costa Rica to respond as well as possible to their needs.
Sugarcane crops in Costa Rica can be monitored in near real time thanks to SugarSaT
Earth observation through satellites is a discipline that may seem technical and distant, but it has very real applications. One of them is the monitoring of agricultural fields. In this sense, a recent study has presented SugarSaT , an innovative tool that allows monitoring the cultivation of sugar cane in Costa Rica ; for example, knowing when it is time to harvest it and detecting possible anomalies in growth.
In this way, farmers can better manage labor, plan transportation or avoid economic losses due to problems that are not detected in time, such as if the plant matures earlier or later than it should, among other factors. The research has been published in the journal Smart Agricultural Technology and has been led by Bryan Alemán-Montes, a researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Costa Rica, with the participation of CREAF.
Joan Masó, CREAF researcher and co-author of the study.
Specifically, the tool uses images from the Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8/9 satellites. “Thanks to these satellites, the evolution of the crop can be analyzed throughout its production cycle,” adds Masó. The data collected by these satellites is displayed in a specialized web browser managed by the research team: MiraMon Web Map Browser . “In this interface , you can view the maps, analyze vegetation indices and obtain updated information almost in real time -every week-,” says Masó.
More precise agriculture
More precise agriculture
According to the research team, the development of SugarSaT represents a breakthrough for so-called precision agriculture, a strategy that uses advanced technology - such as satellites or sensors - to improve agricultural management .
By combining satellite information with web-accessible analysis tools, the system helps make data-driven decisions, in this case about sugarcane cultivation.
Xavier Pons, researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and CREAF
The team points out that, in the future, the tool could be expanded by incorporating new data sources and extended to other cooperatives or other crops.
What are satellites used for?
What are satellites used for?
Beyond this application, satellites provide very valuable information on forests, temperature, air quality, key gases for understanding climate or sea level rise . In the case of Europe, the Copernicus Earth observation program leads this task and has several satellites known as Sentinels in operation.
This publication is part of Bryan Alemán-Montes' doctoral thesis, co-directed by Alaitz Zabala and Pere Serra, researchers at the UAB, with great involvement from Xavier Pons and Joan Masó.
Reference article : Alemán-Montes B, Serra P, Zabala A, Masó J, Pons X (2025) A near real-time spatial decision support system for improving sugarcane monitoring through a satellite mapping web browser. Smart Agricultural Technology: 101084. DOI: 10.1016/j.atech.2025.101084
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