Pilibhit: In a critical move to raise sugarcane agriculture and the country's rural livelihoods, particularly in three top sugar production states, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, India's Sugar & Bioenergy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) has launched Machine Learning (ML) with AI-ML networks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The memorandum (MOU) has been signed between ISMA, ADT, and Map My Crop (MMC), Agri-Tech platforms specializing in AI-driven farm monitoring.The science program aimed at improving sugarcane productivity, crop quality, sustainability and farmer income, with satellite monitoring via IoT (Internet of Things) devices, is expected to benefit the families of more than Rs 500,000 rupees of sugarcane growers and roughly 300,000 hectares of sugarcane growing areas in the state.Isma has coordinated over 30 sugar mills, 20 at Maharashtra and 10 at Karnataka to spread the advanced AI-ML technology of the farmers. Authorities said early on that the program would be launched as a pilot project on an area of 100 acres per sugar mill. “We have set goals to increase sugarcane productivity with at least 100 quintals per hectare and sugar recovery rates of 11% or more through scientific advances,” ISMA managing director Deepak Ballani spoke to TOI.Through collaborations between Oxford University and Microsoft with ADT and Microsoft, the groundbreaking project, “Computer Vision, Machine Learning for Game-Changing Improvements in Cane Crop Agricultural Practices,” launched last year, with over 1,000 farmers in three major sugar-producing states being fed by AI and powered computer vision.“The results reflect a 40% increase in crop yield, a 35% reduction in labor costs, a 30% savings in water usage, a significant reduction in input costs, a reduced overall spending, a 35% improvement in harvest efficiency, and a significant reduction in greenhouse efficiency (GHG) emissions from precision agriculture,” Ballani said. Efficient farm practices.“The program offers practical farm-centric benefits including location-specific precision agriculture modules, satellite-based soil health and fertility mapping, and real-time pest and disease alerts. The huge equipment (VRA) Ballani has been added, both for remote sensing, image-based weed detection and control, custom weather advisory, IoT-resistant acceleration applications for both the costs of both water stress monitoring and water efficiency.“The field demonstration and capacity building sessions are also planned to promote faster adoption of the program by farmers on a broader basis,” he said.
