Baramati, Pune
For sugarcane farmers struggling with erratic weather, droughts and pests, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a new lifeline. The Agricultural Development Trust (ADT), Baramati, in partnership with Microsoft, has launched the “Farm of the Future” project to guide farmers with data-driven decisions.
Under the scheme, weather stations have been installed in fields to record rainfall, wind, temperature, humidity and soil conditions. The data, combined with satellite and drone imagery, is analyzed and sent to farmers through a mobile app with daily instructions – “Irrigate today. Spray fertilizer. Watch for pests.
Suresh Jagtap, a farmer from Nimbut village, said, “By following the alerts, the crop is healthier. The leaves are greener, and the growth is more uniform.”
In the first phase, 200 farmers planted trial plots of one acre each. The results were promising: sugarcane stalks were 30–40% heavier, sucrose levels 20% higher, and the crop cycle reduced from 18 months to 12.
Dr. Yogesh Phatake, a microbiologist at ADT, explained: “When farmers saw data on water, nutrients and soil health, they responded with great enthusiasm. Seeing is believing.”
So far, 1,000 farmers have been shortlisted for training, and similar efforts are being prepared in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The goal is to help farmers take the right step at the right time, reducing water and fertilizer waste while increasing output and sugar quality.
Preventing Migration?
Aditya Vikas Bhagat, 28, another local farmer who has planted a test sugarcane plot, said that if AI can help make farming more sustainable, fewer young people may feel the need to migrate to cities in search of work.
Bhagat, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Postgraduate Diploma in Agriculture Business Management, returned to manage his family’s 160 acres of sugarcane in the village of Korhale Bhudra. AI is just the latest technology his farm has adopted – after drip irrigation, solar panels, and drones for spraying fertiliser and pesticide.
“India is ready for this next disruption,” said Microsoft’s Ranveer Chandra. “Think of the next wave beyond the Green Revolution. We are at the cusp of the next big disruption in agriculture with AI and data. India is early, but it is ready.”
