AI-Based Weather Forecasting Initiatives for Farmers

An AI-based pilot was conducted in collaboration with the Development Innovation Lab- India on agriculturally relevant local monsoon onset forecasts across parts of 13 states in India for Kharif 2025. An open-source blended model was used, including NeuralGCM, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' (ECMWF) Artificial Intelligence Forecasting System (AIFS), and historical rainfall data from 125 years from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).The probabilistic forecasts predicted only the local onset of the monsoon, which is essential for deciding on the date of sowing crops. Local monsoon onset forecasts were sent via SMS through the M-Kisan portal to 3,88,45,214 farmers in 13statesin five regional languages- Hindi, Odia, Marathi, Bangla, and Punjabi. Telephonic farmer feedback surveys were conducted in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar through Kisan Call Centres after the forecasts were sent. The survey revealed that 31-52% farmers adjusted their planting decisions, primarily through changes in land preparation and sowing timing, which included crop and input choice.

Further, the government has employed Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to improve crop productivity, sustainability and farmer livelihoods and to address various challenges in the agricultural sector.Some initiatives are given below:

1. "Kisan e-Mitra" is a voice-based AI-powered chatbot, developed to assist farmers with responses to their queries on PM KisanSammanNidhi scheme, PM Fasal BhimaYojna and Kisan Credit Card. This solution supports 11 regional languages and is evolving to assist with other government programs. At present, it handles over 8000 farmer queries daily and so far, more than 93 lakh queries have been answered.
2. The National Pest Surveillance System, for tackling the loss of produce due to climate change, utilizes AI and Machine Learning to detect pest infestation in crop issues, enabling timely intervention for healthier crops. This tool, currently used by over 10,000 extension workers, allows farmers to capture images of pests to help them mitigate pest attacks and reduce crop losses. At present, it supports 66 crops and over 432 pests. AI-based analytics using field photographs for satellite-based crop mapping is being used in Crop-weather matching monitoring of crops sown.

This information was given by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Ramnath Thakur in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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RC/AR