Role of AI in transforming India’s agriculture

Agriculture provides a living for around 58% of India’s population. In FY20, the Gross Value Added from fishery, forestry, and agriculture was predicted to be Rs 19.48 lakh crore. In FY20, agriculture, including allied sectors, accounted for 17.8% of India’s gross value added (GVA) at current prices. Following the pandemic-driven recession, consumer expenditure in India will resume increase in 2021.

Agricultural development will benefit not just farmers, but also a huge portion of the rural poor who are actively involved in agriculture or indirectly tied to agriculture as consumers. A more conjugative environment in the country for the development of the economy as a whole and better agricultural income would be created by more efficient production methods, stabilized pricing, and higher agricultural income.

Major priorities and issues for Indian Agriculture

• Small and fragmented land-holdings
• Shortage of good quality seeds, manures, fertilizers and biocides for poor peasants.
• Problem of Irrigation and heavy dependence on monsoon
• Lack of mechanization
• Soil Erosion
• Absence of proper agricultural marketing facilities

Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Indian Agriculture

Many industries around the world have undergone significant changes as a result of technological advancements. Surprisingly, agriculture, while being the least computerised, has seen a surge in agricultural technology development and commercialization in India. In the realm of agriculture, artificial intelligence (AI) is a new technology. Agriculture has been elevated to a new level thanks to AI-based equipment and tools. Crop production has improved as a result of this technology, as has real-time monitoring, harvesting, processing, and marketing. The latest automated system technologies, such as agricultural robots and drones, have made a huge contribution.

How will AI impact Indian Agriculture?

In the fiscal year 2019-20, 133 agreements raised more than $1 billion for Indian agri-food tech start-ups. India’s agricultural exports increased to $37.4 billion in 2019, and this is expected to rise further with improvements in the supply chain, as well as better storage and packaging. All of these measures will go a long way toward ensuring farmers receive fair pricing and reducing agrarian stress. Investments in technology are helping to boost agricultural output and productivity even further. Disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming Indian agriculture, and an increasing number of agri-tech businesses are developing and implementing AI-based solutions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used by the agriculture industry to help produce healthier crops, control pests, monitor soil and growing conditions, organise data for farmers, reduce effort, and improve a wide range of agriculture-related operations along the food supply chain.

Application of AI in Agriculture

There are various applications of AI in agriculture which aims at providing a drastic positive impact on India’s primary sector. Some of these applications are listed below –

• AI-enabled system to detect pests and weeds
• Agricultural Robotics
• Predictive Analytics and Precision Farming
• Analysing the health of crops by drones
• Crop and Soil health monitoring system
• Use in weather forecasting to detect unpredictable weather conditions

Artificial intelligence in agriculture not only assists the Indian farmers in automating their agricultural operations, but also changes to precise cultivation for improved crop output and quality while using fewer resources.

Companies that improve Artificial Intelligence-based products or services, such as agricultural training data, drones, and automated machine manufacturing, would benefit from technological advancements.