Although agriculture continue to be a priority sector that represent the livelihood of around 58% of the country population, the adoption of technology in the sector is at a transitory juncture and faces several challenges throughout the value chain, according to a report. Although agriculture in India is at a transitionals juncture, with a focus on integrating technologies for better operation, the sector faces several challenges across the value chain, according to a report by PwC and FICCI.
Indian agriculture sector, says new report 2022
The report titled Redefining agriculture through artificial intelligence Predicting the unpredictable said that these challenges require disruptive interference that can be provided by technological solutions.
Read Also : Flat is the new up a fight for survival and an opportunity ahead for Indian startups
The entire system must be adapted to a holistic approach that can be based on indigenous and traditional agricultural knowledge integrated with transformative smart farming practices, including the adoption of artificial intelligence AI tools and techniques, he noted.
The adoption of AI technologies will pave the way for increased production with optimal utilization of available resources and will facilitate predictive analytics, crop health management, improve quality and traceability, among others.
The report further said that the adoption of innovative and transformative smart farming practices in the country is gradually becoming a major trend.
Smart and technology-driven resource management, modernization of agricultural supply chains, climate risk mitigation strategy, digitalization of agricultural collectives such as farmers’ organizations, the emergence of an ecosystem of start-ups and initiatives governments in digital agriculture are some of the steps being taken to encourage smart farming practices.
Technological advances globally in recent years are reshaping the upstream and downstream segments of the agricultural value chain.
Cutting-edge technologies in AI such as IoT Internet of Things, ML Machine Learning, cloud computing, statistical computing, deep learning, Virtual Reality VR and Augmented Reality AR are enabling the industry to overcome the challenges of productivity, quality, traceability and carbon emission with greater profitability, adds the report.
The report says that as the country agricultural sector develops further, the use of drones in farming methods is predicted to grow with many new companies investing in low-cost drones, which can help farmers, improve their knowledge and generate employment for rural youth.
The main challenges with the innovation and technology aspects of AI in the agricultural sector are the limited pool of AI and sector expertise, existing gaps in public AI research, poor data quality, and lack of access to data. data, lack of cross-border coordination and collaboration.
These challenges can be addressed through a 3S strategy employing the levers of Scale, Skill and Service to transform AI into agricultural intelligence, leading to widespread adoption of the technology in the ecosystem through the collaborative efforts of key actors as drivers of change. suggested the report.
