Each morning Indian farmer R Murali opens an app on his phone to check if his pomegranate trees need watering, fertiliser or are at risk from pests.<\/p>\n

“It is a routine,” Murali, 51, told AFP at his farm in the southern state of Karnataka. “Like praying to God every day.”<\/p>\n

Much of India’s vast agricultural economy — employing more than 45 percent of the workforce — remains deeply traditional, beset by problems made worse by extreme weather driven by climate change.<\/p>\n

Murali is part of an increasing number of growers in the world’s most populous nation who have adopted artificial intelligence-powered tools, which he says helps him farm “more efficiently and effectively”.<\/p>\n

“The app is the first thing I check as soon as I wake up,” said Murali, whose farm is planted with sensors providing constant updates on soil moisture, nutrient levels and farm-level weather forecasts.<\/p>\n

He says the AI system developed by tech startup Fasal, which details when and how much water, fertiliser and pesticide is needed, has slashed costs by a fifth without reducing yields.<\/p>\n

“What we have built is a technology that allows crops to talk to their farmers,” said Ananda Verma, a founder of Fasal, which serves around 12,000 farmers.<\/p>\n

Mr Verma, 35, who began developing the system in 2017 to understand soil moisture as a “do-it-yourself” project for his father’s farm, called it a tool “to make better decisions”.<\/p>\n

Costly<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Fasal’s products cost between $57 and $287 to install.<\/p>\n

That is a high price in a country where farmers’ average monthly income is $117, and where over 85 percent of farms are smaller than two hectares (five acres), according to government figures.<\/p>\n

“We have the technology, but the availability of risk capital in India is limited,” said Verma.<\/p>\n

New Delhi says it is determined to develop homegrown and low-cost AI, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to co-host an AI summit in France opening on Monday.<\/p>\n

Agriculture, which accounts for roughly 15 percent of India’s economy, is one area ripe for its application. Farms are in dire need of investment and modernisation.<\/p>\n

Water shortages, floods and increasingly erratic weather, as well as debt, have taken a heavy toll in an industry that employs roughly two-thirds of India’s 1.4 billion population.<\/p>\n

India is already home to over 450 agritech startups with the sector’s projected valuation at $24 billion, according to a 2023 report by the government NITI Aayog think tank.<\/p>\n

But the report also warned that a lack of digital literacy often resulted in the poor adoption of agritech solutions.<\/p>\n

Buzzing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Among those companies is Niqo Robotics, which has developed a system using AI cameras attached to focused chemical spraying machines.<\/p>\n

Tractor-fitted sprays assess each plant to provide the ideal amount of chemicals, reducing input costs and limiting environmental damage, it says.<\/p>\n

Niqo claims its users in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh states have cut their outlay on chemicals by up to 90 percent.<\/p>\n

At another startup, BeePrecise, Rishina Kuruvilla is part of team that has developed AI monitors measuring the health of beehives.<\/p>\n

That includes moisture, temperature and even the sound of bees — a way to track the queen bee’s activities.<\/p>\n

Kuruvilla said the tool helped beekeepers harvest honey that is “a little more organic and better for consumption”.<\/p>\n

State help<\/strong><\/p>\n

But while AI tech is blossoming, takeup among farmers is slow because many cannot afford it.<\/p>\n

Agricultural economist RS Deshpande, a visiting professor at Bengaluru’s Institute for Social and Economic Change, says the government must meet the cost.<\/p>\n

Many farmers “are surviving” only because they eat what they grow, he said.<\/p>\n

“Since they own a farm, they take the farm produce home,” he said. “If the government is ready, India is ready.”<\/p>\n

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n

\u200bThe Artificial Intelligence system developed by tech startup Fasal details when and how much water, fertiliser and pesticide are needed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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