ICRISAT’s AI-based Agromet Advisory Service:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and ICAR have launched an AI-based context-specific Agromet Advisory Service to boost farming.
- ICRISAT’s AI-based Agromet Advisory Service is a new initiative harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to provide real-time, personalized climate advisory services to farmers.
- It aims to equip smallholder farmers with hyper-local, actionable weather and climate insights, enabling them to make informed decisions amid increasing climate variability.
- The initiative will provide farmers with timely, actionable recommendations for critical decisions such as sowing, irrigation, and pest management.
- These advisories will be delivered through user-friendly digital channels, including an AI-powered WhatsApp bot, ensuring easy access even in remote farming communities.
- The project is supported under the Government of India’s Monsoon Mission III.
- The project will first be implemented in Maharashtra, through ICAR’s Agro-Meteorological Field Units (AMFUs) to reach smallholder farmers. Insights from this phase will inform a national rollout and serve as a model for South-South expansion.
- The Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA-ICAR), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) joined the initiative.
- The Intelligent Systems Advisory Tool (iSAT), a digital platform developed and piloted by ICRISAT and partners during Monsoon Mission II is now being upgraded into a fully functional AI-powered tool under this new initiative.
- iSAT was initially designed to transform complex climate and agronomic data into personalised, science-based advisories.
