Why not robots, AI in fields?

Coimbatore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of doubling farmers’ income in our country by 2022 is being debated all over. While the opposition look at it as ‘publicity trick’, policy makers, scientists and academicians in the agriculture sector opine that it is about time technology is used in our fields to achieve better yields that will generate income for the farmer and will feed India's one billion plus population. Climate change can be met with diversification in agriculture,” Dr Trilochan Mohapatra director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research said. The aim of satellite farming, better known as ‘Precision Agriculture ’ is to define a decision support system for whole farm management with the goal of optimizing returns on inputs while preserving resources. Seconding him is Dr K. Ramasamy, vice-chancellor of Coimbatore based Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said, “our country must aim at mass production, making agricultural produce available for an economical cost and sustainability.” Also stating that entrepreneurs have a key role to play in bridging the gap between research and development in the technological front and the farmer in the field, he said “collectively, we must strive towards making agriculture a lucrative profession.”