Farming and allied industries are the backbone of India’s economy. In modernizing agricultural practices, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a key role in achieving the objective of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022.
Agriculture is also listed by India’s national AI strategy as one of the main areas where AI can enable growth and greater inclusion. AI-enabled farming solutions help farmers improve crop productivity, monitor soil health, optimize the management of pests and weeds,
manage irrigation, and help farmers to pay the best price. In line with the aspirations of the country, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is working to grow the agricultural sector. A main focus area is upgrading the technology quotient in agriculture.
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar announced onNovember 6, 2020 that the Centre would soon launch a ‘price information and market intelligence system’ powered by AI that will enable farmers to find out the
latest prices of different farm products in markets across the nation.
He said while announcing the plan, “We are developing a price mechanism. Through this process, even a person sitting in Badaun will know the prices prevailing in Kolkata market every day in the morning. This scheme is being built and very soon it will be launched.”
Several start-ups are now also committed to maintaining the agricultural sector through the AI system. In Andhra Pradesh, a company is using AI to power a sowing app, leading to a higher crop yield per hectare. In addition, AI algorithms are being used to monitor crop and soil health, where AI-based analytical solutions are used to plan events like crop harvesting, pest control and fertilisation to optimise yields.
Selfmade entrepreneurs such as former IITians Mr. Taranjeet Singh Bhamra and Mr. Rajamanohar Somasundaram have recently been reported to have introduced an AI-powered
platform that helps farm producers, buyers, and end users. In order to remove subjectivity and bring transparency across the food value chain, the platform facilitates instant quality assessment
and traceability linkages.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the IT and Industries Department, announced that Telangana is focusing on artificial intelligence in agriculture and has generated several data sets on reports on weather ,agricultural prices and the market yard position.
To sum it up the future of farming looks bright as AI is taking over the standard procedures.