The MoU will experiment with the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission (KAPC), Department of Agriculture to help improve price forecasting practices to benefit farmers. (AP Photo/Representational image) The MoU will experiment with the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission (KAPC), Department of Agriculture to help improve price forecasting practices to benefit farmers. (AP Photo/Representational image)

In an attempt to empower smallholder farmers and lift their fortunes, the Government of Karnataka on Friday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited.

The collaboration aims to enable these farmers with technology-oriented solutions that will help them increase income using ground-breaking, cloud-based technologies, machine learning and advanced analytics.

The MoU will experiment with the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission (KAPC), Department of Agriculture to help improve price forecasting practices to benefit farmers. Microsoft with guidance from KAPC is attempting to develop a multi-variant agricultural commodity price forecasting model considering the following datasets – historical sowing area, production, yield, weather datasets and other related datasets as relevant. For this season, Tur crop has been identified for this prediction model.

Reflecting on the development, TN Prakash Kammardi, KAPC Chairman, expressed confidence that digital agriculture will yield promising results. “We are certain that digital agriculture supported by advanced technology platforms will truly benefit farmers. We believe that Microsoft’s technology will support these innovative experiments which will help us transform the lives of the farmers in our state,” Kammardi said.

The MoU is also aimed at using digital tools that have the potential to deliver cutting edge innovations and artificial intelligence to help farmers get higher crop yields in the state.

Microsoft in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has deployed a Sowing Advisory Service in the kharif season on a limited pilot, under the Bhoochetana project.

Microsoft India, meanwhile, stressed on the role Artificial Intelligence in agriculture can play in the digital transformation of India. “At Microsoft we want technology to empower every person and organization in the world. This MoU will help enable the use of intelligent technologies to deliver solutions in the agriculture sector,” Anil Bhansali, Corporate Vice President, Cloud & Enterprise, Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd. said.

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