ICRISAT and Partners Launch AI-Powered Climate Advisory Initiative to Boost Farmer Resilience

From
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
Published on
30.07.25
Impact Area
Big data, Environmental health & biodiversity

[L-R]: Dr Ram Dhulipala, Director, CGIAR Digital Transformation Accelerator; Dr SK Bal, Project Coordinator (Agromet) ICAR - CRIDA; Dr Suryachandra Rao, Director, IITM; Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT; Dr LS Rathore, Former Director General, IMD; Dr Shivananda Pai, Head – Agromet Division, IMD; Dr Padmaja Ravula, Principal Scientist - Sociologist, Gender & Nutrition Research, ICRISAT; and Dr Shalander Kumar, Deputy Global Research Program Director – Enabling Systems Transformation, ICRISAT

The new initiative leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to deliver hyper-local insights for climate-resilient agriculture

Revolutionizing how farmers anticipate and adapt to climate variability, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has joined forces with leading national and international institutions to launch a cutting-edge initiative that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to deliver personalized, real-time climate advisory services to farmers.

The initiative, titled ‘AI-powered Context-Specific Agromet Advisory Services for Climate-Resilient Agriculture at Scale,’ is supported under the Government of India’s Monsoon Mission III. It aims to equip smallholder farmers with hyper-local, actionable weather and climate insights, enabling them to make informed decisions amid increasing climate variability.

Launched during an inception workshop held on 29–30 July 2025 at ICRISAT, Hyderabad, the project brings together a powerful consortium of partners, including ICRISAT, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Key technical support is provided by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Center of Excellence in AI for Agriculture (IIT Ropar), CSIR–Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).