INTERNET OF THINGS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN AGRICULTURE

• IIT Ropar-Technology and Innovation Foundation is working towards IoT-based devices and sensors that are being introduced to saffron production and supply all over India.
• TIH Foundation of IoT and IOE is executing a project of effective and efficient agriculture technology, which aims to develop an end-to-end solution for Agriculture Technology (Agri Tech) to predict crop production in the season. EAgriS is an IoT-based platform developed for this purpose. As an application of IoT in Precision Agriculture, the TIH focuses on Aerial Robotics for Soil Parameters Monitoring, Drone based Imaging, and Drone-based spraying. For the application of AI in Precision Agriculture, the focus of TIH is to develop a predictive data analysis model to make intelligent decisions based on ambient conditions (temperature, humidity, wind speed, and direction rainfall), soil parameters (moisture, temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, NPK, Sulphur) and leaf wetness.
• AI4ICPS Foundation is developing AI-based technologies for Precision Agriculture, Predictive and Forecasting models using AI for Crop Health Monitoring and Soil Health Monitoring.

3. Other Initiatives

• Under the Digital India initiatives, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) along with NASSCOM and the state governments has set up Centres of Excellence on the Internet of Things at Bengaluru, Gurugram, Gandhi Nagar, and Vishakapatnam. One of the objectives of these centers is to enable India to emerge as an innovation hub in IoT through the democratization of innovation and the realization of prototypes. One of the focus areas of Centres of Excellence on IoT at Vishakapatnam is Agri-tech and it connects various entities such as startups, enterprises, venture capitals, government, and academia.
• Under the National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGPA) program under the Department of Agriculture & Farmer's welfare funding is given to state governments for Digital Agriculture projects using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, etc.
• A program called "Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development" has been in operation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) since 2018-19 to promote innovation and agripreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. Start-ups in agriculture and allied sectors are being encouraged to contribute directly and indirectly to enhance the income of farmers by providing opportunities to them and to provide employment to youth. In this connection, five (5) Knowledge Partners (KPs) and Twenty four (24) Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) have been appointed by this Department to advise on the smooth and efficient execution of this program in various states across the country.

4. Start-ups Under this Programme

• Start-ups under the program are taking up projects in various fields of agriculture and allied sectors like Agro-processing, Food Technology & Value Addition, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Block Chain Technology (BCT), precision farming and Digital agriculture, Blockchain technology, Agri. Logistics, Value & Supply chain management, Online/virtual platform, Agri.Extension, Agri.Inputs, Farm mechanization & innovation, organic farming & products, Natural Resource Management, Renewable Energy, Waste to Wealth, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Dairy, Secondary agriculture, etc.
• So far, 1102 start-ups operating in agriculture and allied sectors have been selected and Rs. 66.83 crores has been released in installments. These start-ups were trained for two months at various agribusiness incubation centers i.e KPs & R-ABIs before providing financial assistance.
• The institutes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have initiated work on the application of IoT and AI in agriculture.
• Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) has conducted a few pilot studies under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana using innovative technologies for crop yield estimation through various Government and Private Agencies.
• During 2019-20, pilot studies were conducted envisaging space technologies through 12 agencies in 64 districts of 15 states for 9 crops, while these approaches were validated in Rabi 2019-20 in 15 blocks of 6 states. Further, during 2020-21, the pilot studies were scaled up to 100 districts spread over 9 states of the country, with the help of 7 agencies for paddy crop in Kharif 2020, which continued in Rabi 2020-21 for Rabi, Rice, and wheat Crop.
• Various technologies viz., Satellite, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs), Simulation models, IoT devices, and AI/ML techniques were used in the study to derive the yield estimates at the Gram Panchayat level.

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