Pune: Chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Monday that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in sugar cane cultivation can change the economy of the sector and increase the standard of living for farmers.
He spoke on the subject of “How AI can be used in agricultural fields such as sugar cane cultivation, rice, and horticulture.”
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Vasantdada Sugar Institute and the Agricultural Development Trust has been signed to explore how the technology can reach as many farmers as possible.
Pointing out the sector's flock, Pawar said that Sugar Mills hasn't gotten the right cane, bringing a crushing season that lasts only within 100 days. As a result, he said that there is little use of factory machinery, which will have a negative impact on the viability of finance.
“The solution is to increase sugarcane yield per acre and achieve this, AI can play a major role. Using AI to increase cane yield, thereby producing more sugar and by-products like ethanol is the right approach.
While AI is useful for all crops, Pawar added that it will be a true “game changer” for sugar cane.
The Agricultural Development Trust has launched the program with the help of Oxford University, he said.
“Experts at the Vasantdada Sugar Institute and the Agricultural Development Trust are finding ways to set up weather stations and shelters in the field, and how to use them to increase sugarcane yield. They provide this information by visiting various sugar mills,” says Pawar.
“Every sugar mill has farmers. These officers have consistently complained that they only focus on cane planting dates, harvest schedules and transport arrangements. They are not paying attention to how cane growth, quality or recovery rates are improved.
Speaking about the costs of installing AI-enabled systems on sugar cane farms, Pawar said the initial costs were £25,000 per hectare. “this, £9,000 is paid by the farmer, £6,750 by sugar mills, and £9,250 will be contributed by the Vasantdada Institute. It is good that the state agriculture department of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank is now more interested in the project,” Pawar said.
Drip irrigation is essential to implementing AI, he said it would encourage major drip irrigation system manufacturers to reduce pricing.
ajit exchanges name plates and avoids sitting next to pawar sr
Maharashtra's deputy prime minister, Ajit Pawar, swapped the nameplate that was held in Days at an event in Pune on Monday, avoiding sitting next to his uncle and NCP (SP) Supremo Sharad Pawar.
The NCP split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the then-Eknath Shinde government. The party name and clock symbols were given to the Ajit faction, but those led by the former Agriculture Minister baptized the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
The nameplate swap took place at the Vasantdada Sugar Institute event, where the use of artificial intelligence in agriculture was discussed.
According to the initial sitting, the nameplates of the two leaders were side by side. However, the deputy commercial moved the board, which made his name into one chair, to allow state cooperation minister Babasaheb Patil to sit between him and the NCP (SP) chief.
Incidentally, the series of events was that Ajit Pawar would re-execute a similar act at VSI itself in January this year. He also allowed Patil to sit next to Sharad Pawar.
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