Workshop on Foundations for AI-Enabled Advisory: Advancing Cropping Systems Data at Scale for India

12–13 December 2025, New Delhi

A two-day national workshop on “Foundations for AI-enabled Advisory: Advancing Cropping Systems Data at Scale for India” was organised on 12–13 December 2025 at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC), New Delhi. The workshop was jointly organised as a collaborative initiative of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the International Rice Research Institute, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Cornell University (USA).

The workshop aimed to review the progress achieved under the Landscape Crop Assessment Survey (LCAS) collaboration and to chart future directions for its deployment through enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning across diverse farming systems in India.

Addressing the participants, Dr Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), stated that the workshop was convened to ensure continuity of the CSISA initiative for transforming agriculture through digital farm services. He highlighted the scope of AI in new initiatives such as the KVK Portal and in further strengthening platforms like Kisan Sarathi (IASRI). He emphasized that the deliberations should lead to a roadmap for leveraging AI and digital farm services to capture field-level feedback loops and generate institutional insights to address policy gaps affecting agricultural growth.

Dr J. K. Jena, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), underlined the importance of exposing students to real-world farmers’ challenges and practical problem-solving approaches. He suggested exploring the development of a diploma course in big data analytics and providing a platform during the upcoming Vice-Chancellors’ Conference to discuss the introduction of practical courses in this domain.

Providing an overview of LCAS implementation, Dr R. Burman, Assistant Director General (Agricultural Extension), highlighted its application across 100 districts under the rice–wheat cropping system and 22 districts in pulses. He emphasized the role of LCAS in strengthening feedback mechanisms, expanding its scope to other agricultural streams including marketing and whole farming system approaches, and integrating the RAWE programme of final-year undergraduate students in State Agricultural Universities (SAUs).

Dr Seema Jaggi, Assistant Director General (Education), noted that discussions on AI and machine learning during the workshop would provide a strong foundation for nearly 20,000 agricultural graduates across 79 SAUs. She added that such initiatives align well with the Government of India’s focus on 100 aspirational districts, helping identify policy-related issues and gaps in research and extension systems.

The speakers assured that ICAR is prepared to expand LCAS-related activities, and expressed confidence that the workshop would generate strategic inputs for shaping the future of agricultural education by enhancing students’ exposure to farmers’ issues and innovation-driven solutions. 

The event was further enriched by the presence of the Vice-Chancellor of Kota Agriculture University and the Directors of ICAR–ATARI Bihar and Jharkhand, and ICAR–ATARI West Bengal and Odisha, who actively contributed to the brainstorming sessions.

(Source: Agricultural Extension Division, ICAR)