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    Harnessing the power of AI to transform agriculture


    The world is facing an imminent challenge – the world population is expected to grow from 7.7 billion to 10 billion by 2050; today (with a population of 7.7) more than 820 million people are hungry globally.
    Does this mean that the world needs to produce more food to feed the hungry? Evidence seems to suggest that food production should increase. However, many of the farmers in the global south are aged and very few youths are replacing them. Can technology help in ensuring increased agricultural productivity?
    In a recent blog, Jean –Philippe Courtois, President at Microsoft Global Sales opines that Artificial Intelligence can be part of the solution.
    Already many farmers managing large-scale operations are embracing innovative technologies such as self-driving tractors that use GPS, satellite imagery, and AI to plant more efficiently.
    Sensors and machine learning are helping such farmers make smarter decisions about when to irrigate and how much fertilizer to apply. How about small scale farmers, many who live in low-resource countries, can they benefit from these technologies?



    A pilot project in Andhra Pradesh on the southeast coast of India 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 is working with the nonprofit International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to enable farmers to take advantage of the power of AI to increase yields.
     The AI Sowing App draws from more than 30 years of climate data, combined with real-time weather information, and then uses sophisticated forecasting models powered by Azure AI to determine the optimal time to plant, the ideal sowing depth, how much farm manure to apply, and more. 
    In the pilot’s first year, 175 groundnut farmers participated. Most farmers in the region planted in early June, as dictated by custom and tradition. Farmers who used the AI Sowing App delayed planting by three weeks. For those who waited, the results were dramatic—on average they harvested 30 percent more per hectare than farmers who planted at the beginning of June.  Read the full case
    Key takeaways
    · 175 smallholder farmers see productivity success as crop yield increases by 30%
    · This was made possible through a partnership between the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Microsoft, and the Andhra Pradesh government
    · The success of this pilot suggests a path for governments to consider adoption of these technological solutions to delivering sustainable solutions to smallholder farmers and in so doing boost the agriculture sector in India.?