Former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar announced that the Agricultural Development Trust (ADT) in Baramati is planning to introduce a course on using Artificial Intelligence in the farming sector to increase yield and reduce losses. The course Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture Technology and Climate Change has been framed by Oxford University, aiming to help farmers in crop management, forecasting drought, pest and disease management and other farming categories.  

Pawar said, “The course will be introduced in ADT from January next year. Oxford University and Microsoft will cooperate with trust to run the course. Use of Artificial Intelligence in farming sector will be a game changer for the Indian farming community”.  

As per the experts, the integration of Artificial Intelligence in farming will uplift the farming community to boost the yield without incurring extra costs. Ajit Jaokar, the course director at Oxford University, said, “Our focus is to see how the technology can be used at ground level and how to get the maximum impact of it to help the farming community. Besides the academics, we will also show the practical use of technology through this course. Therefore, we have decided to collaborate with Agricultural Development Trust”.  

St Aloysius College, Mangaluru, has introduced a free diploma course in integrated agriculture and organic farming methods for undertrials at the district prison. This 100-hour course includes 60% of practical classes and targets to assist the inmates in learning skills that enable them after release. The course is taught by organic farmers and college professors sponsored by a philanthropist and is free of charge for undertrials.