Agriculture contributes to 17 per cent of worldwide Gross Home Product (GDP) and is the one largest supply of employment in India, making improvements on this area important for progress of the nation. The nation’s smallholdings farmers face vital challenges owing to pest infestations, shrinking yields, monetary constraints and the growing impression of local weather change. In response to the World Financial Discussion board, about 40 per cent of the nation’s produce will get misplaced in post-harvest with points similar to crop wastage, lack of correct logistics and market entry for farmers to promote their yields.

Applied sciences like Synthetic Intelligence might be leveraged to handle important challenges within the fields of agriculture, meals safety and sustainable livelihoods. The intersection of know-how and function was celebrated on the Mint All About AI | Tech4Good Awards 2024, sponsored by Salesforce. Within the ‘Finest Use of AI in Agriculture and Meals Safety’ class, Aquaconnect emerged as a Gold Winner for its transformative method to aquaculture whereas Fyllo was the Silver Winner for utilizing AI instruments to assist hundreds of farmers maximise their yields.

Utilizing AI to boost productiveness

Agriculture stays a cornerstone of worldwide meals safety, and AI is unlocking new alternatives to optimise practices and enhance sustainability. As the worldwide inhabitants is projected to hit the 9.8 billion mark in 2050, there shall be vital strain on the agriculture and meals safety sectors to result in improvements to enhance meals manufacturing and maximise crop yields, at the same time as they deal with points similar to restricted land, scarcity of labour, local weather change and decreasing soil fertility. Watch the stay webcast of the occasion under,

AI may use information to supply insights into the availability chain, analyse market demand and forecast costs. Utilizing AI-led precision agriculture, farmers can mix one of the best applied sciences throughout processes similar to soil administration, pest management and pricing to minimise spends and maximise yields. Automation may also be used to convey down necessities for labour and make processes extra environment friendly. The ‘Finest Use of AI in Agriculture and Meals Safety’ class celebrates options that empower farmers and remodel provide chains.

Winner of the Gold class: Aquaconnect

India’s aquaculture sector is a serious participant in international seafood manufacturing, contributing 14 per cent to the overall international market and supporting thousands and thousands of rural and coastal communities. Regardless of its $25 billion market measurement, the sector struggles with inefficient market linkages, hindering farmers’ entry to inputs and output markets.

The Indian fisheries and seafood trade was a standard one, and India’s huge geographical panorama made it impractical to seize information bodily. This made it robust for key gamers to make use of Synthetic Intelligence (AI) to result in larger efficiencies within the general provide chain for fish and shrimp farming. Aquaconnect took a special method by integrating geospatial applied sciences with AI fashions to inject effectivity into the Indian seafood worth chain. The corporate hasrevolutionised aquaculture with AI-driven predictive analytics and real-time insights, enhancing productiveness and selling sustainable fish and shrimp farming practices.

“AI provides unparalleled benefits in processing huge quantities of geospatial imagery, serving to us speed up our mission to revolutionise the trade. Earlier than implementing AquaSAT, the aquaculture trade struggled with inefficient market linkages for accessing inputs and promoting harvest produce. Understanding manufacturing tendencies may take as much as a 12 months, delaying important selections and hindering effectivity throughout the worth chain. After deploying AquaSAT, we ship close to real-time intelligence to the sector,” mentioned Sudhakar Velayudham, Entrepreneur in Residence at Aquaconnect.

They map pond boundaries, determine fish and shrimp ponds, assess tradition levels, decide enter wants, and predict harvest provide. That is easy to trace manufacturing standing, monitor stocked and harvested ponds, detect disease-prone areas, and forecast outputs from particular person ponds to the nationwide stage. Authorities establishments leverage these insights for coverage making, addressing gaps and alternatives, manufacturing zoning, and strategic countermeasures. “Our platform enhances transparency and effectivity, empowering stakeholders with actionable information throughout the worth chain,” he additional mentioned.

Winner of the Silver class: Fyllo

The agricultural sector faces quite a few challenges, similar to unpredictable climate, poor soil well being, and pests, and many others which might considerably impression crop high quality and yield. Farmers usually lack entry to well timed and correct information, hindering their capacity to make knowledgeable selections and resulting in inefficiencies and decrease profitability. Fyllo empowers farmers by precision agriculture instruments, leveraging AI to optimise useful resource use and enhance sustainability in farming practices. They assist farmers make data-driven selections by leveraging cutting-edge agronomy fashions and AI-based prediction fashions to maximise their crop potential and obtain fixed yields. To date, the agency has helped over 11,000 farmers.

“AI has the potential to revolutionise agriculture by analysing huge quantities of knowledge from soil, climate, and crop well being to ship actionable insights. We regarded in direction of AI as an answer as a result of it permits us to course of real-time info shortly, determine patterns, and supply predictive insights that help precision farming. AI-powered analytics assist us present personalised suggestions for irrigation, nutrient administration, and pest management, tailor-made to every farm’s distinctive circumstances, enabling farmers to make smarter, data-driven selections all through the crop cycle,” unhappy Sudhanshu Rai, Co-Founder at Fyllo.

When concerning the impression AI instruments have made within the sector, he defined: “Earlier than implementing our AI options, farmers relied on conventional strategies, which regularly led to overuse of assets, larger enter prices, and unpredictable yields. After adopting Fyllo’s AI-driven platform, farmers now obtain real-time information on soil moisture, crop well being, and climate circumstances. Because of this, irrigation effectivity improved by as much as 30 per cent, pest-related losses diminished considerably, and general yield high quality elevated. Our AI-driven insights have remodeled farming operations, offering measurable advantages in productiveness and sustainability, leading to extra constant and worthwhile harvests.”

Concerning the Salesforce All About AI | Tech4Good2024 Awards

The Mint All About AI | Tech4Good Awards 2024, sponsored by Salesforce, has set a benchmark for recognising how AI might be harnessed as a drive for good, from combating local weather change to democratising entry to schooling and healthcare. This initiative aligns with the rising want for accountable and moral AI options prioritising societal well-being.

The awards showcased the transformative energy of synthetic intelligence in addressing a few of society’s most urgent challenges. With over 100 aggressive entriesvying for recognition, the occasion highlighted the breadth of revolutionary AI purposes throughout varied sectors.

The awards night time was attended by a prestigious gathering of 160 trade leaders, technologists, and changemakers on the Jio World Centre in Mumbai. Moreover, the occasion’s impression prolonged globally, with 12000 members becoming a member of by way of livestream, demonstrating the widespread curiosity in AI-driven options for societal good. This unimaginable turnout underscores the relevance of AI in driving sustainable progress and the eagerness of audiences worldwide to have fun and study from these groundbreaking efforts.