Artificial intelligence helps farmers increase crop yields in India

The Government of India has successfully applied artificial intelligence (AI) to find effective solutions in agriculture, thereby assisting farmers, reports IANS, a partner of TV BRICS.

An experimental AI-based project was carried out in collaboration with the Indian Laboratory of Innovation in Development and focused on the monsoons, which bring abundant rainfall and are critically important for farmers. The research on forecasting the 2025 monsoon season covered 13 states.

It is reported that the forecasting system used a hybrid model, incorporating 125 years of historical rainfall data provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The forecasts described the local onset of the southwest monsoon season. Farmers received this information via SMS in five regional languages. Telephone surveys conducted during the experiment showed that 31–52 per cent of respondents adjusted their decisions regarding sowing dates and soil preparation.

In addition, the study employed a voice-controlled AI chatbot created to assist farmers. The bot supports 11 regional languages and can be used for the implementation of other government programmes. Currently, the application processes over 8,000 farmer requests daily. To date, responses have been provided for more than 93 million requests.

Artificial intelligence also helped in combating pests. The National Pest Surveillance System uses machine learning to anticipate problems. The AI tool, currently used by over 10,000 specialists, informs farmers about 432 types of pests across 66 agricultural crops.

Photo: Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn / iStock