TNN | Sep 13, 2026
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/ai-will-transform-indian-agriculture-experts/articleshow/134154487.cms
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to transform Indian agriculture through precision farming, advanced pest detection, climate-resilient practices and digital advisory services, leading agricultural scientists said during the Agriculture Track of AI Manthan 2.0 at Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), Kanpur.
The session brought together experts from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), IIT Ropar and agricultural universities across Uttar Pradesh to discuss how AI can address the challenges faced by farmers.
Delivering the first address, Mukesh Saini from IIT Ropar highlighted the achievements of ANNAM.AI, the institute’s Centre of Excellence in AI for Agriculture. He said the platform has created a database of more than 10.8 million annotated crop data points across 24 states, enabling AI-based pest and disease detection tools.
Anil Rai of ICAR said AI is driving the transition from conventional farming to climate-smart and precision agriculture. He explained how satellite imagery, drones and real-time analytics are helping improve yields, reduce input costs and support sustainable farming practices.
Concluding the session, Sanjeev Kumar of ICAR presented ‘Kisan Sarathi’, a digital extension platform developed with the Digital India Corporation. The platform connects farmers with experts through multilingual AI-enabled advisory services.