Centre ropes in IBM for pilot study on using AI in Agriculture

Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with IBM India Private Limited (Indian subsidiary of IBM) for undertaking a pilot study to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology solutions in agriculture in selected pilot districts.

Key Highlights of SoI

The pilot study will be undertaken in 3 districts of Bhopal, Rajkot and Nanded in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra respectively. The pilot study will be conducted for Kharif crop season 2019.

As part of collaboration, IBM’s Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture will be leveraged to gain village level soil moisture and farm level weather forecast in 3 pilot districts.

IBM’s Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture will give solution in field of agriculture through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Weather Technology at village level as well as farm level so as to provide weather forecast and soil moisture information on free of charge basis to help farmers for taking decisions regarding crop and water management for better production and productivity.

Benefits: Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture can improve the future of food and crop years as it aims to harness multiple data points and combine predictive analytics, AI, weather data, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to give farmers insights on plowing, planting crops, spraying, and harvesting.

Significance:

This move of signing of SoI between Agriculture Ministry and IBM to enable use of Next-Generation technologies like AI and advanced weather data for better insights to make faster and more informed agricultural decisions signifies that India is foraying further into the digital age in line of aspiration towards achieving goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2010.

It can also be seen as government’s assurance to bring digital technologies to help our farmers to increase their income and transform Indian agriculture.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2019