AI in the fields: Copilot powers smarter farming
Microsoft is endeavoring to empower the 600 million smallholder farmers around the world by providing access to crucial technologies. With tools like Azure Data Manager for Agriculture and generative AI, Microsoft is helping farmers adopt smarter, more sustainable farming practices. Countries large and small depend on robust food production, yet global agricultural yield losses—up to 40% due to pests and diseases—underscores the urgency for farmers to be able to make time-sensitive decisions based on personalized data.
In India, one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, the sector sustains over 43% of India’s workforce.1 However, many Indian farmers face challenges due to limited access to crucial information and agronomic expertise. This gap can hamper their ability to access time-sensitive information, like changes in monsoon patterns, making it even more challenging to adapt to the rapidly growing demand for agricultural products. As India’s agricultural landscape evolves, leveraging generative AI not only supports the shift away from harmful pesticides and fertilizers, but it also helps farmers boost efficiency.
Azure Data Manager for Agriculture
Create a more sustainable future by innovating with agriculture data
Copilots: Working toward sustainable change
Azure Data Manager for Agriculture is a powerful tool designed to enhance agricultural practices by leveraging high-quality datasets and AI capabilities. This platform connects farm data from various sources, enabling organizations to develop innovative solutions that provide valuable insights into farming operations. With Microsoft copilot templates, organizations easily create custom copilots to seamlessly retrieve and analyze data in natural language—making it easier to gain actionable insights. Microsoft supports its customers and partners by offering comprehensive tools and resources, fostering collaboration, and driving innovation across the agricultural value chain. Microsoft is working closely with customers like ITC, a versatile Indian multi-business company, to optimize agricultural decision-making and promote sustainable farming practices.
ITC is deeply committed to sustainability and the welfare of small holder farmers, and they have developed Krishi Mitra, aptly named “farming friend.” This agricultural super app, created using Microsoft’s copilot template, enables farmers to ask questions in their own language and uses generative AI plugins to provide answers on weather and agronomy. By incorporating natural language chat functionality powered by generative AI, Krishi Mitra offers tailored guidance on crop management, pest control, soil health, water conservation, and more. Additionally, Microsoft language localization tools enable the app to cater to a diverse linguistic audience, ensuring that farmers across various regions can access crucial farming information in their preferred language.
Microsoft is working closely with partners like ITC to extend Azure Data Manager for Agriculture. Supporting farmers by providing AI-powered tools, Microsoft and its partners are working together to provide optimized agricultural decision-making. ITC plans to bring generative AI to over 100,000 farmers in India by end of 2024, with an anticipated user base of around 10 million by 2030. Plans include integrating the copilot with Azure Data Manager for Agriculture in subsequent phases, allowing for access to a wide range of additional data sources.
A streamlined development process using plugins
The development process of Krishi Mitra was streamlined using orchestrated plugins, which access specific functionalities—such as weather data and farming advice. This method ensures a flexible and efficient user interface from ITC, eliminating the need for substantial modifications to the core system architecture. Moreover, the application of contextual indexing and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) techniques has significantly refined the quality of the app’s responses.
Krishi Mitra’s queries are meticulously processed by a Semantic Kernel-based orchestrator, which then gets responses from Microsoft plugins. This feature empowers farmers to pose questions on weather forecasts and get agronomic advice for crops while the app identifies and utilizes the most suitable plugin to retrieve the optimal answer for each inquiry. This seamless integration and user-friendly interface are what set Krishi Mitra apart, making it an essential tool for farmers aiming to enhance their agricultural efficiency and outcomes.
Boost productivity and profitability with AI
In addition to conventional farming challenges such as soil fertility and climate, many farmers contend with limited access to agricultural technology and relevant information that can support their work. Krishi Mitra delivers a comprehensive array of benefits to farmers by equipping them with the necessary tools and information to refine their agricultural practices and market strategies. The app’s core objective is to provide instantaneous access to critical information, boosting the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers while promoting sustainability and climate resilience.
In 2021, approximately 61,000 metric tons of pesticides were used in India for agricultural purposes.2 Some pests that were once minor have become major threats thanks to rising temperatures that alter insect-crop interactions. With access to Microsoft AI tools, Krishi Mitra can continuously learn and adapt from new agricultural data and user interactions. This feature allows the app to improve its recommendations and stay updated with the latest farming techniques and information, helping farmers stay ahead of pest issues and use fewer pesticides when they catch problems early.
Personalized data enhances farming opportunities
Maximizing profits for small farmers hinges on determining the optimal harvest time to ensure crops are of the highest quality and yield, while also capitalizing on the best market prices. Krishi Mitra empowers farmers with immediate access to essential information like precise weather forecasts, enabling farmers to align their farming operations with upcoming weather conditions. Additionally, it provides comprehensive market insights, including detailed data on market locations, pricing, and other critical factors. Data like this helps farmers make strategic decisions regarding irrigation, the timing of their harvests, and choosing the most profitable buyers located nearest to their farms.
The diversity of languages in India has traditionally posed challenges to widespread technological adoption among farmers. Krishi Mitra addresses this barrier with its capability to process natural language queries and offer translations in local languages. This functionality allows farmers to use their smartphones not just for communication but as a tool for receiving actionable farm management advice in a language they understand. The app’s personalized advisories are tailored to meet the specific needs of each farmer, ensuring that the guidance they receive is not only relevant but comprehensible. This personalized support is instrumental in improving agricultural yields and subsequently increasing the income of the farmers, truly making Krishi Mitra a transformational tool in the hands of the Indian agricultural community.
Discover agriculture solutions
- Learn more about Azure Data Manager for Agriculture features.
- Explore Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solutions for agriculture.
- Learn about Headstorm’s AgPilot tool.
2 Statista, Volume of pesticides used for agriculture in India from 2011 to 2021, March 2024.
