Onam meets technology: How Indian agriculture uses AI and other tech

The auspicious occasion of Onam is already here, and with it comes a lot of cleaning, gifting and of course Sadya-cooking. For most of us, it is easy to forget that the festival is actually celebrated to mark the beginning of the rice harvesting season in India.

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While rice cultivation and agriculture in general have been a part of India’s history for thousands of years, the process has changed significantly over time – evolving gradually every decade. This includes the use of different planting and fertilising methods, as well as modern tech used to make harvesting more efficient.

As we celebrate Onam 2024, let’s quickly go over the role of technology and how it is changing (and helping) agriculture in India.

Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Robots

A combination of advanced sensors and AI is used for agricultural planning, that makes it easier for farmers to determine planting schedules, among other things. As per a BBC report from earlier this year, the agriculture sector employs about 50 per cent of the Indian workforce. AI and analytics can make life much easier for those directly involved in this occupation.

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Sensors planted alongside crops across hectares of land can precisely understand environmental elements like the weather and moisture, allowing algorithms to determine exactly when to water plants, use pesticides, and more. Farmers also get all this data in an easy-to-understand manner via apps on their smartphone.

Platforms like KissanAI, which has a dedicated website and an app, are also encouraging farmers to ask questions like “How to improve soil condition?” or “What is the best time to plant.” This service is offered in a number of regional languages, along with some global ones including Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.

Robotics are also used to make labour automated and more efficient, with machines being able to precisely sow and water crops across large areas with more precision than manual human labour can offer. While the report mentions that only two per cent of the country uses tech in farming, it is a start – the number is likely to go up in the years to come.

Drones and Satellite imaging

Crop surveying and pesticides to keep unwanted organisms at bay, are both fundamental pillars of agriculture pretty much across the world. The use of high-tech drones is helping achieve both of these with ease, accuracy, and minimal human effort.

As per a report by Ohio State University, India’s neighbour China may be leading in this department. The country used over 1,20,000 drones across 175.5 million acres in 2021.

India is catching up, for not just rice cultivation, but all kinds of crops. A number of drone startups have popped up in the country over the years that focus on agriculture and are used not just for pesticide spraying but also other use-cases like irrigation and analysing crop growth patterns. Brands like DJI are also heavily involved in building agricultural drones, with models like the DJI Agras T50 offering up to 40kg payload capacities.

GPS-powered precision agriculture

Similar to how we use GPS services in our cars and other personal vehicles for everything from navigation to fitness tracking smartwatches, the tech is also used in agriculture. GPS receivers are a part of nearly all the equipment you read about above, and then some.

From mapping their farms to keeping track of expensive farm trucks and other equipment, GPS tech is a huge part of agricultural. Aside from powering completely automated solutions, GPS in vehicles like tractors also help farmers figure out the best ways to go over the land with efficiency and accuracy.

If you haven’t gauged it already, the entire concept of precision agriculture, leans heavily on GPS services.

As India continues to adopt technology into more and more sectors, the use of several aspects like AI and even drones are likely to go up in the years and decades to come.

For now, know that the next time you enjoy an Onam Sadya meal, there’s a good chance some of the tech you read about above was used somewhere in the process of making your delicious meal.