Mumbai’s AI4 Agri 2026 summit kicked off with a bold proclamation from Science Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh: India’s forthcoming agri revolution will be AI-powered. During his keynote at the Global Conference on AI in Agriculture and Investor Summit, he framed AI as integral to policymaking, innovation, and capital flows in farming.
Chronic hurdles – volatile climates, info asymmetries, and splintered marketplaces – are set for AI disruption, Dr. Singh asserted. ‘This technology offers scalable fixes to age-old productivity drags,’ he stated, projecting that 10% gains for 600 million Global South farmers could eradicate poverty on a historic scale.
Positioning agri as a high-stakes domain, he tied initiatives to the Rs 10,372 crore India AI Mission’s ecosystem of native computing, data troves, and incubators. The BharatJan platform’s ‘Agri Parm’ – fluent in 22 tongues – exemplifies inclusive tech. Emphasizing, ‘AI speaking a farmer’s dialect changes everything,’ he stressed cultural fit.
Through DST, the India AI Open Stack enables plug-and-play AI tools across states. NRF-funded deep-tech with IITs, IISc, and ICAR targets farm-specific AI. Drones and satellites verify land and soil metrics, supercharging existing programs. Earth science-AI hybrids deliver actionable climate forecasts, shifting farmers from reaction to strategy.
Biotech will pioneer symptomless disease spotting and resilient varieties, enabling circular farming. The numbers are staggering: 140 million units could unlock Rs 70,000 crore yearly via per-farmer Rs 5,000 AI savings in timing, pest control, and sales. Citing Maharashtra’s Rs 500 crore policy as exemplary, Dr. Singh vowed federal amplification.
India’s AI-agri fusion heralds a new era of smart, inclusive growth, transforming smallholder fortunes into national wealth.