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Informist, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025

MUMBAI – The India Sugar Mills and Bioenergy Manufacturers Association has launched a national network programme on the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on sugarcane productivity, quality, and sustainability under diverse agro-ecological conditions, the association said in a release Tuesday. This is a collaborative move by the association, the Agriculture Development Trust, Baramati, and Map My Crop to transform sugarcane farming and uplift rural livelihoods, it said.

The initiative aims to ensure that farmers remain central to this transformation. Higher yields and better resource use not only improve sugar recovery but also directly boost farm profitability, the association said. This initiative leverages the power of artificial intelligence to significantly enhance sugarcane productivity, quality, sustainability, and farmers' incomes, the association said.

The AI network programme is being rolled out in key sugarcane-growing regions and will involve sugar mills, research institutions, and farmers' groups. Field demonstrations and capacity-building sessions are planned to promote rapid adoption. The programme is expected to serve as a national model for digitally driven, sustainable agriculture that puts farmers first, strengthens India's bio-energy value chain, and helps to meet the country's ambitious blending and export goals.

The programme will deliver practical, farmer-centric benefits such as location-specific precision farming modules, satellite-based soil health and fertility mapping, and real-time pest and disease alerts through remote sensing. The programme will also help in getting image-based weed detection and control, custom weather advisories, and water stress monitoring. Internet of Things-enabled precision irrigation for water efficiency, variable rate application for optimal fertiliser use, and reduction in input costs and carbon footprint are a few other benefits of the programme, according to the release.

"At the heart of this initiative is the Indian farmer," said Deepak Ballani, the association's director general. "When we talk about increasing productivity, we are ultimately talking about increasing farmer income, ensuring their long-term sustainability, and making agriculture more resilient. This technology-backed network will help farmers take better decisions, use fewer resources, and get better returns per acre."  End

Reported by Taniva Singha Roy

Edited by Nishant Maher

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