The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has initiated several AI-related projects under the Digital Agriculture Mission to support modern digital technology adoption in agriculture. These initiatives are being used for farmer advisories, pest control, crop identification, insurance, delivery of scheme benefits, and governance analytics.
Key AI initiatives include the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS) which utilizes AI and Machine Learning to detect pest infestation in crops, enabling timely intervention. This system currently supports 73 crops across 436 pests and is used by over 10,000 extension workers, allowing farmers to capture images of pests to mitigate attacks and reduce crop losses.
The India Meteorological Department provides AI-based monsoon and weather advisories to support agricultural decision-making, enabling farmers to plan operations based on timely and location-specific weather forecasts. This initiative has reached approximately 5.28 crore farmers as of the report date.
BharatVistaar (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) is a multilingual AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture that provides real-time, location-specific agricultural advisories and access to government schemes. The platform has served over 3 lakh farmers and addressed more than 72 lakh farmer queries, providing information on 18 Central Government schemes, crop and livestock advisories, weather forecasts, mandi prices, pest and disease identification, soil health-based recommendations, and grievance redressal. The platform is available through web portal, mobile application, AI chatbot, and dedicated telephone line in multiple languages.
No specific assessment has been undertaken by the Government to comprehensively evaluate the impact of AI-based technologies. The funds allocated and utilized for digital agriculture initiatives during the last five years show significant investment: ₹60 crore allocated (₹20.84 utilized) in 2022-23, ₹450 crore allocated (₹119.44 utilized) in 2023-24, ₹763.88 crore allocated (₹356 utilized) in 2024-25, ₹758.56 crore allocated (₹596.10 utilized) in 2025-26, and ₹502.40 crore allocated (₹364.62 utilized) in 2026-27.
The Government also provides technical assistance and financial support for human resources to States/UTs for project implementation and capacity-building to enhance farmers' access to AI-enabled technologies and digital services, including for small and marginal farmers.