India’s agriculture is at a turning level, with almost 42% of its workforce reliant on small farms (IFAD). The sector faces mounting strain: water shortage, rising debt, and as much as 15% post-harvest losses (NABARD research). Within the final three years, 70% of smallholders have misplaced half or extra of a crop, with 71% reporting extreme local weather impacts and incomes down 15.7% since 2022 (2024 Farmer Voice survey). Finally, by 2030, India is projected to see a considerable 5.8% decline in working hours – equal to 34 million full-time jobs – on account of warmth stress (WEF).
But, the promise of AI-driven innovation is actual: investing in 15 foundational agricultural datasets may unlock $65 billion in worth for Indian farmers (WEF), making meals programs extra resilient and worthwhile. In keeping with the India Digital Agriculture Council, solely 30% of Indian farmers have been utilizing digital instruments—representing an unlimited, untapped alternative for climate-smart transformation.
The Cisco Basis’s Regenerative Future Fund and Local weather Grants Portfolio assist tech ventures and nonprofits that mix expertise and farmers’ engagement for a extra regenerative future. This implies scaling reforestation, soil well being, carbon markets, and nature-based options throughout India. Listed here are a couple of examples.
Mitti Labs: Remodeling Rice for Local weather and Livelihoods
Rice farming consumes 30% of the world’s freshwater (WFP) and produces 12% of worldwide methane emissions (WWF)—making it central to India’s meals and local weather targets. Mitti Labs is pioneering a tech-driven strategy to decarbonize rice manufacturing and reward regenerative practices.
Supported by the Regenerative Future Fund, an impact-first enterprise fund, Mitti Labs’ AI-powered digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) platform combines satellite tv for pc and sensor knowledge with subject assist to assist farmers undertake Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). AWD reduces methane and water use by as much as 40% whereas sustaining or rising yields. In keeping with Mitti Labs, listed here are a couple of methods they’re gaining traction:
- Subject outcomes are compelling: In Telangana’s Warangal, AWD minimize water use by 37% whereas sustaining yields. In Haryana’s Safidon, AWD decreased water by 19% with no yield loss. These outcomes imply decrease methane emissions, improved water conservation, and new revenue streams for 1000’s of climate-vulnerable farmers.
- Market management: Partnering with Carbon Place, Good Carbon, Ceezer, and Cloverly, Mitti Labs allows safe purchases of methane-based carbon credit for patrons globally that want to assist avoidance efforts. Its total 2025 offset provide is absolutely allotted, with extra set for 2026 and 2027.
- World recognition: Sylvera, a carbon scores company, referred to as Mitti Labs a “key enabler” of methane discount in rice (Sylvera, 2024).
As Madhuri, a Mitti Labs Subject Supervisor in Warangal, shares, “It’s encouraging to see increasingly farmers understanding our AWD applications and coming ahead to hitch our motion.” Group leaders echo the influence: “One in each 4 farmers in Warangal is now collaborating.”
Since 2023, Mitti Labs has onboarded 30,000 farmers, expanded digital Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (dMRV) capabilities to 10 million hectares, and launched initiatives with companions like Syngenta Basis and The Nature Conservancy. Their pipeline spans India and Southeast Asia, focusing on 200,000+ farmers and over a million carbon avoidance credit per yr. With tech and new markets, Mitti Labs is shaping the way forward for rice decarbonization.
Digital Inexperienced: AI for Local weather-Resilient, Regenerative Farming
Digital Inexperienced is remodeling agricultural advisory providers for smallholder farmers by its AI-powered assistant, Farmer.Chat. This progressive platform addresses the necessity for well timed, localized, and actionable farm and market suggestions — particularly for resource-poor, low-literacy, and low-connectivity populations. Farmers and extension employees can resolve queries utilizing voice, textual content, photos, or video in regional languages. The platform offers essential info reminiscent of climate forecasts, crop and pest illness warnings, and reminders for regenerative practices.
Supported by the Cisco Basis’s Local weather Grant Portfolio in 2024, Farmer.Chat has reached over 460,000 smallholder farmers since its launch in 2022. Proof exhibits it drives habits adjustments, notably in adopting regenerative practices like improved crop diet, illness administration, soil well being, and natural fertilization.
With girls making up over 42% of India’s agricultural labor power — and going through limitations like decrease cell phone possession — Digital Inexperienced’s design allows climate-smart recommendation to achieve those that want it.
As CEO Rikin Gandhi shares, “Due to companions like Cisco Basis, we’re serving to construct a extra resilient, equitable meals system—one voice, one determination, one farmer at a time.”
Farmers for Forests: AI-Powered Monitoring for Reforestation
Farmers for Forests (F4F) is utilizing AI to revolutionize monitoring in agroforestry practices, notably in areas going through important tree cowl and biodiversity loss — India alone has misplaced 5 million bushes in 20 years. With assist from the Cisco Basis’s Local weather Grants Portfolio, F4F is creating an open-source AI platform utilizing drone and satellite tv for pc knowledge for scalable, correct monitoring.
The platform detects even small bushes beneath 4 ft — usually missed by conventional satellite tv for pc fashions — and displays carbon sequestration and irrigation infrastructure. It integrates pc imaginative and prescient fashions like Meta’s Detectron-2 and DeepForest, plus AI skilled on tree datasets for species classification and biomass estimation. These instruments allow carbon estimation and biodiversity mapping, supporting holistic ecological restoration.
F4F’s imaginative and prescient is to allow high-integrity, data-backed reforestation and agroforestry throughout a million hectares by 2030. Their expertise empowers grassroots implementers—particularly smallholder and tribal communities—with clear, cost-effective, and scalable monitoring, fostering improved tree survival, enhanced biodiversity, and the creation of jobs. The platform’s give attention to weak farmers allows AI-driven insights to translate into tangible advantages like elevated water safety, improved soil well being, and better resilience by environment friendly useful resource administration and carbon sequestration.
Harnessing AI for Agriculture in India
Along with the Regenerative Future Fund and the Local weather Grant Portfolio, Cisco’s India CSR program can be working to assist the agritech startup ecosystem in India by Krishi Mangal (with Social Alpha), supporting startups like TraceX (superior AI-ML provide chain compliance and deforestation monitoring), Satyukt Analytics (satellite tv for pc and AI-powered insights for agriculture) and Jaljeevika (AI-driven chatbots for aquaculture, boosting productiveness and traceability).
Cisco and the Cisco Basis’s holistic funding technique aligns with international suggestions: construct digital infrastructure, knowledge ecosystems, and scalable AI purposes for India’s 150 million smallholders, constructing on AI’s 40% progress charge within the final 5 years (WEF). This platform strategy isn’t nearly tech — it’s about remodeling yields, transparency, and resilience at scale.
This weblog was written with help from Stasi Baranoff, Cisco’s Local weather Grant Portfolio, TekSystems at Cisco.
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