NASSCOM, the Information Technology (IT) industry body, has said on Thursday that policy and financial support are needed for India to maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in farming sector, which still faces many challenges.
According to the study, AI has the potential to play a critical role in relieving the sector of most of its challenging input conditions, catalyzing a transition towards data-driven farming.
NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh said at the launch of the report ‘Leveraging AI to Maximize India’s Farm Productivity’ in collaboration with Ernst & Young (EY) that, like the Netherlands, India can leverage the potential of AI technologies in the farming sector.
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‘The Netherlands is a shining example of effective AI implementation in agriculture. With just a small amount of arable land, the country has become the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products with the use of value-added technology and artificial intelligence ‘ Ghosh made the announcement in a tweet.
Ghosh further added that for India to maximise the potential of AI, a coalition of government, industries, and start-ups is needed to provide necessary facilities and policy support, enable AI innovation across sectors, and mentor and provide financial support to startups.
According to Nasscom, findings from a survey conducted to assess where Agri enterprises are in their AI journey revealed that with “Trust in AI” as the primary cornerstone, revenue development, creativity, and farmer/end-customer experiences are central concerns.
Furthermore, businesses are looking at a dedicated AI strategy and budget as a primary imperative for scaling AI initiatives enterprise-wide post-COVID-19, according to the study.
Several AI-led start-ups are currently creating groundbreaking AI-led technologies that solve unique problems in the value chain. Precision planting, crop disease control, and produce sorting and grading are three of the most important areas of focus for start-ups.
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