Come December, tur growers in Karnataka can look forward to the prospect of having a better visibility on the price trend of the red gram at least for the next six months, which could help them take an informed marketing decision.

A multi-variant price forecasting model for tur crop, being developed by Microsoft for the Karnataka government using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms, is expected to help growers.

Similarly, in the next few years, an apple or pomegranate farmer may be able to estimate his crop size based on an image of fruits on a tree in his orchard. Using the same image, even the grading of the produce can be done before it is harvested. Likewise, for a potato farmer, the risk of disease outbreak can be predicted in advance based on emerging weather parameters. And soil moisture levels in the farm can be assessed using an image from remote-sensing satellite to carry out timely irrigation and targeted fertiliser/pesticide application.

Other digital tools Thanks to AI and a host of digital tools such as cognitive computing, image processing and advanced analytics by technology majors IBM and Microsoft, precision agriculture is set to get a major boost as innovative solutions take root in the Indian agrarian landscape.

While Microsoft has partnered with Karnataka to develop price-forecasting model, IBM Research Labs is making its tools available to entrepreneurs/start-ups to develop solutions.

“We are making available our technology platform and tools to enable start-ups and entrepreneurs to frame innovative solutions for precision agriculture,” said Sriram Raghavan, Director, IBM Research India. IBM Research, which focusses on the agri-business vertical in India, is working with a couple of Indian firms and running pilots on precision agriculture using technologies such as geo-spatial analytics, the Internet of Things and forecasting technologies, Raghavan said.

Microsoft proposed a multi-variant agricultural commodity price-forecasting model using historical sowing area, production, yield and weather data sets on its Cortana platform. “We plan to develop such a model for 10 crops; for this season, a model is being developed for tur. We expect these solutions will help farmers take informed decisions when they harvest crops this year,” said Prakash Kammaradi, Chairman of the Karnataka Agricultural Prices Commission.

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