Use of AI likely to help enhance sugarcane production by 30%, say expert

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) could bring down the need of water in sugarcane farming by 50 per cent and increase the per acre produce by nearly 30 per cent, an expert in the field said on Wednesday.

Notably, a meeting was recently held in Pune in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar where the use of AI in sugarcane farming was discussed.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Vasantdada Sugar Institute and Agricultural Development Trust was signed to explore ways to ensure this technology reaches as many farmers as possible.

"Microsoft has already worked for a long time on the use of AI for sugarcane cultivation and is assuring 30 per cent growth in sugarcane production and curtailing water usage (in its farming) to half. This will help to run the sugar mills for a longer time (more than 110 days) and losses will also be less," Maharashtra State Co-Operative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd director Jayprakash Dandegaonkar told PTI. 

'The 40 (23 co-operative and 17 private) sugar mills in Maharashtra which do not owe any debt to the VSI will be included in this project (of AI use in sugarcane cultivation)," he said.

A group of 25 sugarcane cultivating farmers in a two-km radius will have a station (automated AI facility) which will report to war rooms of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and the VSI, the former state minister said.

An amount of Rs 25,000 may be needed initially for the cost incurred by a farmer. The war rooms will alert these farmers in a few seconds about steps to be taken during the cultivation, he said.

This technology will work on forecasting, soil testing, watering alerts, limiting the use of pesticides and protecting nutrients of the soil, he added.

The tonnage of sugarcane in Maharashtra has gone down, Dandegaonkar pointed out.

"Due to less rainfall, the per acre production in the state has come down to 73 tonnes. The use of AI can definitely help us to reach at least 150 tonnes per acre in the near period," he said.

"Farmers need to install drips in their fields for this (irrigation). We can expect the first such station (automated AI facility) installed and put into operation by August-end or the first week of September," he added.