In 2022, Yogesh Raut, a cotton and soybean farmer from Maharashtra, discovered himself at a crossroads. Like many cultivators in his area, he relied on guide spraying strategies that consumed each time and sources.

Hiring labourers to spray his 30-acre farmland sometimes price him round Rs 1,200 per acre, whereas additionally demanding lengthy hours of labor below the solar. When a good friend really useful attempting robotic sprayers, Yogesh was deeply sceptical.

Farming, for him, was about laborious labour and private oversight; the considered entrusting machines with such delicate duties appeared implausible. But, curiosity prevailed. After one demonstration, he cautiously booked a session.

To his shock, the robots accomplished the work at half the associated fee, spraying solely the crops and never the soil, thereby saving pesticides and defending the atmosphere. “With labourers, it takes a whole day to spray the crops, however these robots accomplished the duty inside two hours,” Yogesh explains, reflecting on how expertise reworked his on a regular basis follow.

Yogesh’s story is neither remoted nor anecdotal. It’s a part of a broader transformation the place frontier applied sciences — synthetic intelligence (AI), robotics, drones, sensors, and biotechnology — are redefining agriculture in India. These improvements are usually not mere instruments; they’re reshaping age-old practices, decreasing drudgery, optimising sources, and addressing structural challenges, reminiscent of low productiveness, excessive enter prices, and local weather vulnerability.

It’s impact-driven examples like these which might be on the coronary heart of the Frontier Tech Hub Repository, which is showcasing how frontier tech improvements can meet nationwide improvement priorities.

The function of frontier applied sciences in redefining agriculture

Tales like Yogesh’s spotlight the bigger structural shifts going down in Indian agriculture, the place frontier applied sciences are starting to deal with age-old challenges of productiveness, sustainability, and profitability.

Precision agriculture instruments like AI-powered sprayers and IoT sensors enable farmers to make use of water, fertilisers, and pesticides extra effectively, chopping prices whereas defending soil well being and biodiversity. Actual-time monitoring by drones and sensors generates steady knowledge, serving to farmers predict crop ailments, determine nutrient deficiencies, and act earlier than losses happen. 

Know-how additionally strengthens local weather resilience, with practices like direct-seeded rice in climate-smart villages enabling adaptation to erratic rainfall and rising temperatures. Robotics and automation ease labour shortages, enhancing effectivity and security in farm operations.

On the identical time, integrating biofertilisers and optimising inputs lowers the ecological footprint, aligning meals safety with environmental priorities. Collectively, these improvements are shifting Indian farming away from intuition-led strategies towards evidence-driven decision-making.

Farmers on the chopping fringe of innovation

AI-powered spot-spraying robots

Bengaluru-based Jaisimha Rao based Niqo Robotics to launch robotic sprayers, primarily based on AI-powered imaginative and prescient expertise, which epitomise precision agriculture. Its cameras differentiate between plant and soil, making certain pesticides are sprayed solely the place wanted. By combining “see, choose, spray” steps, the robotic reduces pesticide use, protects soil well being, and cuts operational prices.

Farmers like Yogesh, and over 500 others throughout Maharashtra and Karnataka, have embraced these robots, validating that expertise as soon as dismissed as futuristic can now turn out to be mainstream.

Precision farming with IoT sensors

In Tamil Nadu, Benjamin, founding father of Farm Once more, has taken precision farming to a brand new stage. His work with farmers on how IoT sensors can measure soil moisture, nutrient ranges, and climatic variations. Farmers, who as soon as irrigated fields with 10 instances the mandatory water, drastically improved yields when guided by real-time knowledge. Those that almost deserted farming doubled their coconut yield after adopting the precision monitoring system.

Right here, frontier applied sciences not solely prevented useful resource wastage but in addition restored farmers’ confidence in agriculture as a viable livelihood.

Drone-based interventions

Kerala-based startup Fuselage Improvements, based by Devika and Devan Chandrasekharan, illustrates how drones can revolutionise farming practices. Their UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Automobiles) are able to aerial plant surveys and precision spraying of fertilisers, overlaying as much as 50 acres in a single day.

This innovation is especially vital in disaster-affected areas like Kerala, the place floods broken fertile soil. Drones restored farmers’ skill to handle massive fields effectively, whereas decreasing dependence on guide scouting and growing security in dealing with agrochemicals.

These tales spotlight a standard thread: applied sciences are usually not displacing farmers however enabling them to reimagine agriculture in cost-effective, resource-efficient, and environmentally sustainable methods.

NITI Aayog and the frontier tech ecosystem

Scaling such improvements requires robust institutional backing. NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub (FTH) is on the centre of this effort. It curates case research, coverage frameworks, and scalable fashions, making certain innovators and policymakers be taught from real-world successes. By mapping rising applied sciences, catalysing adoption, and aligning stakeholders, the Hub ensures frontier tech turns into a part of India’s improvement priorities.

In agriculture, NITI Aayog positions frontier applied sciences as levers to double farmers’ incomes, construct local weather resilience, and diversify past cereal-centric farming. Its alignment with Viksit Bharat 2047 underscores the function of innovation in India’s imaginative and prescient of turning into a developed nation by its centenary of independence.

Challenges in scaling frontier agriculture

Whereas frontier applied sciences supply immense promise, their adoption comes with vital challenges. For example, affordability stays a key barrier, because the excessive price of kit limits entry for smallholder farmers, with rental companies providing solely partial aid. 

Furthermore, capability constructing is equally essential, since farmers want each coaching and belief in these instruments, a truth mirrored in Yogesh’s preliminary scepticism. Coverage and regulation additionally play a decisive function; clear frameworks on biofertilisers, gene modifying, and mental property rights are essential to information protected and truthful use.

Aside from these, infrastructure gaps additional gradual progress, as dependable electrical energy, web connectivity, and 5G are conditions for AI and IoT-based options to perform successfully. Lastly, fairness issues should be addressed to make sure that small and marginal farmers share in the advantages, quite than permitting superior applied sciences to primarily serve massive landholders.

Accounting for these challenges can put frontier applied sciences on the coronary heart of redefining agriculture. From climate-resilient varieties bred by genomics to sensible irrigation enabled by IoT, these instruments prolong the farmer’s decision-making energy. Paired with supportive insurance policies and public–personal partnerships, they will handle challenges from pest outbreaks to post-harvest losses.

For a rustic the place over 40 % of the workforce is dependent upon agriculture, this transition from subsistence to knowledge-driven, entrepreneurial farming is significant for inclusive development. From AI-powered sprayers in Maharashtra to drones in Kerala and IoT irrigation in Tamil Nadu, frontier applied sciences are already reshaping India’s fields.

If scaled thoughtfully, they will rework agriculture right into a mannequin of climate-smart, resource-efficient development. By 2047, India’s farmlands might stand as dwelling proof of how innovation redefined not simply agriculture, however the nation’s future.

To know how AI, robotics, and different frontier applied sciences are remodeling agriculture, go to https://frontiertech.niti.gov.in/. 

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Supply:

‘Nationwide Dialogue Indian Agriculture In direction of 2030 Pathways for Enhancing Farmers’ Earnings, Dietary Safety and Sustainable Meals Programs‘: by Dr R B Singh, Dr R S Paroda and Dr Malavika Dadlani.

‘Frontier Applied sciences for Crop Enchancment’: by Manish Ok. Pandey, Alison Bentley, Haile Desmae, Manish Roorkiwal, and Rajeev Ok. Varshney