Ropar: As India accelerates its digital transformation, agriculture is emerging as one of the most promising frontiers for artificial intelligence. With nearly 50% of India’s workforce dependent on farming and climate-related losses costing the sector an estimated Rs 60,000 crore annually, AI-driven solutions are no longer optional; they are essential. ANNAM.AI — a center of excellence for AI in agriculture at IIT Ropar, supported by the ministry of education — reflects the mission of the initiative: ensuring national food security and nourishing the agricultural ecosystem. Pushpendra Singh, project director, ANNAM.AI at IIT Ropar, highlights how AI is reshaping the rural economy and why ‘Green Intelligence’ may define India’s next agricultural revolution.Q: What opportunities in Indian agriculture is ANNAM.AI aiming to unlock for farmers? A: India produces vast amounts of agricultural data, such as weather, soil, markets, and pests, but less than 10% of farmers currently access any form of digital advisory. ANNAM.AI aims to bridge this gap by delivering real-time, hyper-local intelligence directly to farmers in their own language. Our systems analyse weather patterns and crop cycles to provide actionable guidance on sowing, irrigation, pest control, and market timing. With climate variability increasing crop losses by 15–20% in many regions, AI-driven decision support systems can significantly reduce uncertainty and improve incomes. Our mission is to democratise data-driven agricultural scientific knowledge and make precision agriculture accessible to every farmer.Q: What makes ANNAM.AI different from the many agri-tech and advisory platforms already in the market? Most agri-tech platforms operate as commercial services. ANNAM.AI is fundamentally different because it is a public-purpose, research and curated data-driven initiative anchored at IIT Ropar. We are building the agricultural intelligence infrastructure based on curated, rich datasets for the country, not just an app. The Annam Chat Engine (ACE) is multilingual, hyper-local, and designed to integrate with govt systems, research institutions, and state departments. India has 22 official languages and over 1,600 dialects, and ACE is built to operate across this linguistic diversity. We see ourselves as a foundational layer that can power multiple applications and partners, rather than a competitor in the agri-tech marketplace.Q: How is ANNAM.AI creating measurable impact for farmers and agri-stakeholders? Our pre-pilots show encouraging results. Farmers using ACE receive timely advisories that reduce input costs by 8–12%, prevent avoidable crop losses, and improve yields by 10–20%, depending on the crop and region. State departments benefit from improved visibility into pest outbreaks and climate risks, enabling faster interventions. Researchers gain access to structured datasets that support evidence-based policymaking. For us, impact is measured through accuracy, accessibility, and adoption, and we are seeing strong traction across all 3.Q: The govt has announced Bharat Vistaar, an AI-driven platform for farmers. How do you see ANNAM.AI supporting such a public digital infrastructure? Bharat Vistaar is a landmark initiative of the Govt aimed at building a unified digital backbone for Indian agriculture. We complements this vision. ACE can serve as the conversational interface for Bharat Vistaar, enabling farmers to access govt schemes, weather alerts, and crop advisories in their own language. With India generating over 15 petabytes of agricultural data annually, the challenge is not data availability but data usability. ANNAM.AI can help convert this data into simple, actionable insights that farmers can trust and act upon. We see ourselves as a key enabler of India’s agricultural digital public infrastructure.Q: With India hosting the upcoming AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, what role do you see agriculture-focused AI solutions playing in the country’s broader AI narrative? Agriculture is where AI can deliver the largest and most inclusive impact for humankind. While sectors like finance or healthcare benefit millions, agriculture touches 700 million people in India. At the AI Impact Summit, I see agriculture highlighted as a domain where India can lead globally through multilingual AI, climate-smart models, and farmer-centric digital ecosystems. India already has the world’s second-largest pool of AI talent, and applying this strength to agriculture can position the country as a global leader in agri-AI innovation.Q: Punjab once led India’s Green Revolution. Do you now see a shift towards ‘Green Intelligence’ powered by AI? How will AI reshape Indian agriculture over the next 5 years? Yes, Punjab is uniquely positioned to lead India’s transition from the “Green Revolution” to “Green Intelligence”. The state has progressive farmers and strong institutions, but it also faces groundwater depletion and rising input costs. AI can help address these challenges through precision irrigation, early pest detection, and climate-adaptive cropping. Over the next 5 years, we expect AI adoption in agriculture to grow by 25–30% annually, driven by affordable smartphones, rural connectivity, and govt support. The shift will be from input-intensive farming to knowledge-intensive farming, where data-driven insights, not chemicals, drive productivity.Q: Many farmers in northern India remain stuck in the wheat- paddy cycle despite rising costs and environmental concerns. How can ANNAM.AI help them break out of this pattern? Will AI eventually guide farmers on what to grow each season? The paddy cycle persists because farmers lack reliable, localised alternatives. Punjab’s groundwater levels are falling by over 0.5 metres per year, yet farmers continue with paddy because it offers predictable procurement. ANNAM.AI can help break this cycle by providing crop diversification intelligence, showing farmers which crops are viable in their specific soil, climate, and market conditions. AI can analyse profitability, water requirements, risk factors, and demand trends to recommend optimal cropping choices. In the next phase, farmers will be able to use AI to decide what to grow each season. This shift can reduce groundwater stress, improve incomes, and support more sustainable agriculture across northern India.
