Indian Farmers Can Increase Agriculture Output Using AI Tools: Study

Agriculture is a livelihood for a majority of India¡¯s population. About three-fifths of the country¡¯s land is used for agriculture--a sector that employs about 44 per cent of India¡¯s total workforce and contributes less than 20 per cent to its GDP.

India faces multiple challenges despite being an agrarian economy. The farmers in the country are largely left at the mercy of weather, insufficient resources, supply chain inefficiencies and low productivity.

AFP

The increased government support has been a good helping hand to small-and-marginal farmers but with COVID-19 putting pressure on the sector, it is now more important than ever to adopt AI solutions to relieve farmers from stressful input conditions and drive farm productivity and income, according to a report by IT industry body Nasscom.

ALSO READ: This Startup Built An AI-Based Grain Analyser That Will Stop Exploitation Of Helpless Farmers

¡°The most efficient way of utilizing the transformational capability is by combining real-time data (farm level) and macro data to provide advisories/inputs/alerts to farmers in managing fields, crop mix and yield,¡± the report launched in partnership with Ernst & Young mentioned.

CropIN

Several AI-led use cases, such as enabling effective seed selection, offering sowing and weather advisory, optimizing resource usage including fertilizers, pesticides and water, automated weeding, pest prediction and prevention etc can help improve farm productivity and empower farmers to make the right decisions at the right time.

ALSO READ: Indian Farmer¡¯s Son-Turned-Innovator Is Helping Farmers Grow Better Crops

Combining AI with real-time sensor data can also help address supply chain inefficiencies such as reducing the production loss or wastage during storage and transportation, the report added.

"The Netherlands is a stellar example of effective AI adoption in agriculture. With just a small arable land the country has become the world's 2nd largest exporter of agricultural products by value leveraging technology and AI," Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said in a statement.

ICRISAT

ALSO READ: Indian Farmers Can Now Better Predict Weather, Reduce Crop Loss With Help Of AI

As per the National eGovernance Programme (NeGP) policy, a coalition of government, industries, and start-ups provide a one stop solution to all information that farmers requires on an operational basis--pesticides, soil health, weather, livestock management, etc--via mobile (Kisan Suvidha, crop insurance, agri market) and web (mKisan, farmers¡¯ and crop insurance portal) apps, the report added.

What do you think about the introduction of AI and technology to modernize farming and the agriculture sector in India? Let us know in the comments section below...