MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved the “Maharashtra Agriculture-Artificial Intelligence (MahaAgri-AI) Policy 2025-2029 policy, aimed at introducing AI, drones and robotics in agriculture to increase production and reduce costs. The government proposes to place the agriculture sector at the forefront of the digital era and encourage farmers to utilise emerging technologies, such as AI, Generative AI, the Internet of Things, drones, computer vision, robotics, and predictive analytics, in farming.The government has earmarked Rs 500 crore for the implementation of the policy.A senior minister stated that the policy was necessary to help farmers benefit from technology, unlike in traditional farming, and to reduce input costs while also recovering them. A Cabinet note said, “This will increase ‘farmer-centric use’ of research, data exchange of AI technology, support start-ups, making Maharashtra a pioneer in digital agricultural innovation.”With the help of AI, personalised advice will be given to farmers in Marathi using chatbots and voice assistants in that language. It will provide information on crop production, disease and pest management, weather forecasts, market prices and government schemes. Simulation tools will be linked to national platforms, such as Agristack and Bhashini. Field extension workers will be trained in the use of AI.A state-wide traceability and quality certification platform based on AI, blockchain, and QR-code technology will be established to ensure food security, transparency in the supply chain, food quality assurance, and global market access for agricultural products. This platform will also create a digital and geo-tagged record of fertilisers and pesticides applied to crops, farming practices, post-harvest processing, and quality certificates, among other details, throughout the journey from farm to consumer.
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