Role Of AI & Emerging Technologies In India's Agriculture Boom

India is a major player in agriculture worldwide. It has the largest cattle herd (buffaloes), largest area planted to wheat, rice, and cotton, and is the largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices in the world. 

To satisfy the demands of a growing population with rising incomes, India's food security depends on producing cereal crops as well as boosting its output of fruits, vegetables, and milk. 

In order to achieve this, there will need to be a rapid development of a productive, competitive, diverse, and sustainable agriculture industry, and the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technology will play a key role in it.

Tushar Trivedi, Head of Farm Mechanization & Farm Operations at nurture.farm said, "To build a sustainable, resilient, and profitable ag-ecosystem, agriculture needs to drive a swift adoption towards emerging technologies, precision agriculture, and sustainable farming practices. Artificial intelligence and machine learning models can help bring predictability by eliminating variables and delivering sustainable outcomes."

He added that to truly unlock the potential of AI and emerging technologies, we need to drive digital transformation at a grass-roots level, which will help generate billions of data sets across crops, geographies, etc.

In India, there are already more than 1,000 agri-tech businesses providing a variety of tech-based solutions, such as market connect platforms, microinsurance, access to agricultural inputs, quality testing, and digital banking. 

Although they have the potential to dramatically improve productivity and sustainability, the scale of these technologies is hampered by a disjointed technology infrastructure, high operational costs, a lack of data access, and a lack of technical experience.

On what role AI -driven technologies can play in the agriculture sector Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides (India) said,  AI-driven technologies, such as drones, sensors, and satellites, enable farmers to collect vast amounts of data about their fields. In India, Kisan Drones are already being utilized for crop assessments, land records, and insecticide spraying, and are projected to usher in a new era of technology in agriculture and farming. 

He added as climate change affects weather patterns and agricultural conditions, AI can help farmers adapt by recommending suitable crop varieties, irrigation strategies, and management practices to cope with changing environments. It can further optimize supply chains by predicting demand patterns, improving logistics, and reducing waste.

The agriculture industry must change its focus in order to better equip and train the human resources needed to manage farming in order to adapt to artificial intelligence. To keep current with the artificial intelligence economy, everyone in the sector needs to receive training and education.