India’s government policy think tank NITI Aayog signed a deal with IBM India Private Limited to develop a prediction model for crop yields using artificial intelligence (AI).
IBM will be develop the technological model for improving agricultural output and productivity for various crops and soil types, and NITI Aayog will use the data insights generated through these AI models to help farmers and other stakeholders.
As part of the first phase, the two organizations will develop a predictive model for ten counties across the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
A large part of this agriculture platform was developed by IBM researchers from India, according to Himanshu Goyal, India sales and alliances leader for The Weather Company that IBM acquired three years back.
Mary Glackin, head of science and government affairs at The Weather Company said that the “decision platform” they will provide consists of three parts:
- Weather data collected from remote sensing and satellite imagery and drones that are being used in some parts of the world
- Collating localized weather data, which could also be historical, and extracting insights from that data, which is where machine learning and AI are used
- “Decision Support”—exploring choices and making decisions
Glackin added, “We are really here to create a platform that can be used by banks, insurance companies, suppliers, traders, etc.”
