AI in AGRI
Transforming farming
In a world with a
finite amount of
arable land, and a
population that is
expected to grow
from 7.7 billion to
nearly 10 billion by
2050, producing
enough food to eat
is a challenge today
and a potential
crisis in the future.
As the population expands
and diets change, farmers
will need to increase food
production by about 70 percent. The
question is: how? Finding the right
answers is one of humanity’s most
pressing issues. AI can be part of the
solution.
Already, AI is beginning to
transform agriculture in important
ways. Many farmers who manage
large-scale operations are taking
advantage of innovative technologies
like self-driving tractors that use GPS,
satellite imagery, and AI to plant more
efficiently; and sensors and machine
learning to make smarter decisions
about when to irrigate and how much
fertilizer to apply.
But what about the majority of
farmers who have less than one
hectare of arable land (or a little less
than 2.5 acres), and who produce 70
percent of the world’s food supply?
Many of them live in low-resource
communities with limited access to
even basic digital technology. Can AI
improve their ability to grow food to
feed a hungry world? Yes, it can.
A pilot project in Andhra Pradesh
offers a hint of what is becoming
possible. In an area of small,
subsistence farms where growers
have always relied on a combination
of ancient traditions and guesswork
to decide when to plant, Microsoft
10 February 2020 | www.smartgovernance.in