Precision Agri Can Reduce Cost, Raise Commercial Crop Yield

Hyderabad: Under agriculture 4.0, technology has to be integrated in the overall food chain. Predominantly for high value commercial crops, precision agriculture can reduce the cost and increase yield, Dr Vemuri Chowdary said.

Addressing the inaugural session of a conference, Agri Vision 2025, with the theme, “Digital Agriculture for Enhancing Productivity and Sustainability,” hosted by CII Telangana, in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Group Director – Agri Sciences & Applications of National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO, Dr Vemuri Chowdary said that under Agriculture 4.0 there is a need to integrate technology in the food chain.

Precision agriculture, predominantly implemented for high value commercial crops, would help in reducing the cost and increasing the yields. Monitoring farm lands through satellites will help farmers understand the harvest progress and estimate the yield outputs, he added. Anil Kumar V Epur, past Chairman, CII Southern Region, pointed out that farmers are facing wide disparity in the yield levels in India when compared to other countries. Telangana has a thriving agri-tech startup ecosystem and efforts are on to integrate technology into agriculture. AI driven technologies, Smart Irrigation, drone-based monitoring are expected to redefine the farming practices and boost yields, he mentioned.

Dr V Praveen Rao, Advisor, CII Telangana - Agri & Food Processing panel, highlighted that digital technology should be predictive and preventive instead of reactive. He urged startups to design technologies in local language and make it accessible to all farmers.