The government has leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT-enabled systems to enhance crop productivity, sustainability, and farmer livelihoods, addressing key challenges in the agricultural sector. Several initiatives, including Kisan e-Mitra, are actively supporting farmers.

Kisan e-Mitra is an AI-powered, voice-based chatbot designed to assist farmers with queries related to the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. Supporting 11 regional languages, it is evolving to provide guidance on other government programs. Currently, it handles over 20,000 farmer queries daily, having answered more than 9.2 million queries so far.

To combat climate-induced pest infestations, the National Pest Surveillance System integrates AI and Machine Learning for early pest detection, enabling timely intervention to protect crops. Used by over 10,000 extension workers, this tool allows farmers to capture images of pests, helping mitigate crop losses. It currently supports 61 crops and over 400 pests.

Additionally, AI-driven satellite-based crop mapping is being employed for crop-weather monitoring, utilising field photographs for more accurate analysis.

This information was shared by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Shri Ramnath Thakur, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

(PIB)