Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are helping farmers grow more crops. An example is cotton farmers using AI to find and fight bollworms. This system tells farmers when and how much pesticide to use, so they don’t use too much and get better crops.
AI also helps with other tools like drones. In Punjab, drones spray fields to boost production, cut costs, and improve farmers’ health. The South Punjab Agriculture Department (SPAD) is making new AI tools to manage pests better and grow more crops.
SPAD started a ‘Virtual Cotton Pest Management Hub’ to promote these tools. Led by Secretary Saqib Ali Attil, they created an online workbook for tracking cotton pests. It has three parts for different data, and only approved people can add information.
The workbook helps track pest problems and other field activities in real-time. Eleven experts check the data and monitor pest issues in their areas. They visit 70 hotspots each month and record their findings in the workbook.
The Agriculture Department staff also update the workbook with information about pest treatments and crop status. They check pesticide use, spraying tools, and methods, adding their comments in the workbook.
This online tool aims to help farmers control pests quickly and grow more cotton. Agriculture scientists, along with China, have also set up an AI lab in Pakistan to improve farming. The lab helps farmers use new technologies for better crop yields and plant quality. AI can help by analyzing data to make smart decisions, like which plants to crossbreed for better traits.
AI means machines doing tasks that usually need human thinking, like learning, solving problems, and making decisions. Machine Learning (ML), a part of AI, uses data to learn tasks. There are two types: supervised (with labeled data) and unsupervised (finding patterns without labels). Plant breeding is the science of choosing and crossing plants to create better crop varieties.
AI in farming helps make smarter choices and better plants.
Source: thenews
