The Maharashtra government is considering the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the agricultural sector to enhance productivity while reducing farmers’ production costs. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has directed the Agriculture Department to coordinate with the Cooperation Department to assess the technical and financial feasibility of this initiative.
With AI transforming various industries worldwide, the agricultural sector is no exception. Climate change, unseasonal rainfall, frequent crop diseases, and labour shortages pose significant challenges to farmers. AI technology can help address these issues by improving crop health analysis, identifying soil carbon content, providing detailed soil health insights, detecting weed types, comparing past yields, monitoring soil temperature and humidity, and identifying pest and disease infestations. Additionally, AI can recognize biotic and abiotic stress on crops, leading to better farm management.
By integrating AI, Maharashtra aims to increase crop yields, reduce labour costs, minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, enhance harvesting efficiency, improve disease control, optimize supply chain management, and lower overall expenses. To bring about a transformative change in farmers’ lives, AI will be introduced on an experimental basis in the agricultural sector.
The Maharashtra government’s initiative aligns with the global shift towards AI-driven solutions in agriculture, aiming to make farming more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective for the state’s farmers.
A meeting regarding AI implementation in agriculture was held at the Deputy Chief Minister’s Committee Room in the state secretariat on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and attended by Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate, Minister of State for Agriculture Ashish Jaiswal (via video conferencing), Minister of State for Cooperation Pankaj Bhoyar, Kailas Patil, President of the All India Grape Growers Association, and Dr. Rajgopal Devara, Additional Chief Secretary of the Planning Department and Development Commissioner.
