News in brief:
– Satya Nadella praised Baramati’s Agriculture Development Trust (ADT) for using Microsoft AI tools to improve farming efficiency and sustainability.
– The technology has helped farmers achieve higher yields with less water and fertiliser while providing actionable insights through a mobile app.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, has praised the Agriculture Development Trust (ADT) of Baramati for its use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in agriculture.
Baramati, a city in India’s state of Maharashtra, established the trust in 1971 to develop the agricultural sector through capacity building and the adoption of modern technologies.
The ADT has developed a 110-acre demonstration farm with various units, including dairy, poultry, soil and water analysis, greenhouses, and sericulture. It has conducted numerous training programs for rural youth, women, and farmers to ensure the effective transfer of technologies and the implementation of research findings through field agronomists.
In a post on X, Nadella expressed his satisfaction with what he observed during a visit to the city. “It was great to meet the team at ADT Baramati today, who are using our AI tools to help farmers grow healthier, more sustainable harvests,” he wrote.
According to the company’s press release, Nadella visited a sugarcane farm that employs a weather station equipped with gauges for wind, rain, solar radiation, temperature, and humidity. It also features sensors for measuring soil moisture, pH, and electrical conductivity, as well as potassium and nitrogen levels. Using Microsoft AI technology, the data collected is combined with satellite imagery, drone imagery, and historical data to generate simple daily alerts via a mobile app called Agripilot.ai.
With generative AI, Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service simplifies the data into actionable instructions and advice. Farmers receive clear guidance, such as adding more water, spraying fertilizers, inspecting for pests, and so on, along with precise locations where the actions are needed.
Microsoft stated that 1,000 farmers were selected for the initial trials of the AI-powered farming support in collaboration with Baramati’s ADT. Although the harvest season is still months away, scientists are already recording stalks that weigh 40% more and contain 20% more sucrose. These plants were grown using less water and fertilizer, and the crop cycle was nearly six months shorter than traditionally expected.
