By 2050, the global population is predicted to reach more than nine billion people, necessitating a 70% increase in agricultural production to meet demand. As the world's population grows, land, water, and resources become insufficient to keep the demand-supply chain going. As a result, we must adopt a more strategic approach and become more efficient in our farming practices in order to maximise productivity.

Many startups have taken on the challenge themselves. They are using artificial intelligence to rescue the agriculture industry to help increase crop yield, control pests, monitor soil and growing conditions organise data for farmers, reduce effort, and improve a wide range of agriculture-related operations along the food supply chain. 

Here we have listed the top five startups (in no order) in India using AI to unleash the next agricultural revolution.

Cropin

Founded in 2020 by Krishna Kumar and Kunal Prasad, Cropin provides an AI-based intelligence mechanism to various stakeholders in the agritech ecosystem for sustainable and resilient agriculture. The SmartFarm Plus solution from this Bengaluru-based startup integrates data from a variety of sources, thus digitising farm data. This includes third-party ERP solutions, manual input via the SmartFarm app, earth observation and satellite-based meteorological data, drones, and other IoT devices, using AI and data analytics to support farmers' decision-making process.

Agriculture is one of the major contributors to GHGs; take, for example, agriculture alone constitutes over 70 per cent of the methane emission. Real-time data accessibility and smart technologies can promote carbon sequestration processes and help achieve zero-carbon per farm, thereby minimising greenhouse gas emissions.

Fasal

Founded in 2018 by Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma, Fasal is a full-stack IoT SaaS platform for horticulture. With the help of on-farm sensors and machine learning algorithms, the platform provides insights for the crop-specific actionable insights, that too in vernacular languages. 

The Bangalore-based startup uses on-farm data to provide a 14-day micro-climatic forecast advance to prepare in advance for inconsistent weather. Similarly, the IoT devices placed in the soil measure the moisture content of the soil, and the system monitors water availability in the soil in real-time to ensure that the crop's irrigation needs are satisfied precisely at all times, based on the crop, its stage, and soil characteristics.

Intello Labs

The startup, founded in 2016 by Milan Sharma, Devendra Chandani, Himani Shah, Ashutosh Kumar and Nishant Mishra, employs new-age tech, including AI, ML and computer vision, to tackle the issue of wastage in India. India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, but according to the Central Institute of Post-Harvesting Engineering and Technology data, India wastes around 18 per cent of its fruits and vegetable production. 

The Gurgaon-based startup uses image matching and machine learning to assess crop quality. It features powerful image recognition technology that can recognise objects, faces, flora and wildlife in any photograph and tag them. Intello Labs recognises deviations from specs and adjusts output to meet requirements. They generate product-based solutions for their clients using the best analytics tools and methods – Deep Learning, AI, Computer Vision, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data.

DeHaat

Founded in 2012 by IIT, IIM and NIT alumni Amrendra Singh, Shyam Sundar, Adarsh Srivastav and Shashank Kumar. The Gurgaon-based startup DeHaat provides farmers with access to more than 3,200 agricultural inputs, combined with AI-based customised crop advisory on pest and disease management, delivered via mobile app and call centres. With real-time data, farmers can get weather forecasts beforehand to make arrangements. Moreover, the insights help in risk management and mitigation as well.

Image Source: Photo by Loren King on Unsplash