ICRISAT and partners launch AI-powered climate advisory initiative to boost farmer resilience

New Delhi: Revolutionizing how farmers anticipate and adapt to climate variability, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has joined forces with leading national and international institutions to launch a cutting-edge initiative that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to deliver personalized, real-time climate advisory services to farmers.

The initiative, titled ‘AI-powered Context-Specific Agromet Advisory Services for Climate-Resilient Agriculture at Scale,’ is supported under the Government of India’s Monsoon Mission III. It aims to equip smallholder farmers with hyper-local, actionable weather and climate insights, enabling them to make informed decisions amid increasing climate variability.

Launched during an inception workshop held on 29–30 July 2025 at ICRISAT, Hyderabad, the project brings together a powerful consortium of partners, including ICRISAT, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Key technical support is provided by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Center of Excellence in AI for Agriculture (IIT Ropar), CSIR–Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Bridging Climate Science and Farmer Needs

At the core of this initiative is the Intelligent Systems Advisory Tool (iSAT), a digital platform developed and piloted by ICRISAT and partners during Monsoon Mission II. Initially designed to transform complex climate and agronomic data into personalized, science-based advisories, iSAT is now being upgraded into a fully functional AI-powered tool under this new initiative.

By integrating real-time weather forecasts, crop models, and machine learning analytics, iSAT will provide farmers with timely, actionable recommendations for critical decisions such as sowing, irrigation, and pest management. These advisories will be delivered through user-friendly digital channels, including an AI-powered WhatsApp bot, ensuring easy access even in remote farming communities. ​

“This technology, developed in India, holds immense potential for adaptation across the Global South, where farmers face similar climate vulnerabilities. Through collaboration and innovation, we can scale these solutions to benefit millions by providing advice to manage risks and improve resilience,” said Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT.

Dr Victor Afari-Sefa, Research Program Director – Enabling Systems Transformation, ICRISAT, welcoming the participants virtually from Nigeria

Launching in Maharashtra with a Vision for Global South Scale-Up

The project will first be implemented in Maharashtra, India, leveraging ICAR’s Agro-Meteorological Field Units (AMFUs) to reach smallholder farmers. Insights from this phase will inform a national rollout and serve as a model for South-South expansion. The digital platform created as a part of this project will also become a foundational use case that will contribute to MausamGPT.

Dr Suryachandra Rao, Director, IITM, underscored MausamGPT’s transformative potential:“The Government of India envisions MausamGPT as a revolutionary platform that will redefine how localized climate information services and recommendations are delivered. Building on the foundation of iSAT, it will seamlessly integrate weather forecasts, agricultural data, and large language models to provide on-demand advisory, empowering farmers like never before.”

Highlighting the significance of easy access, Dr Shivananda Pai, Head – Agromet Division, IMD, said “Farmers need user-friendly tools to pull climate information when they need it. Bridging the last-mile gap in agrometeorology, this initiative places that information directly in their hands.”

A Collaborative Model for Global Impact

This initiative marks a significant step forward in integrating climate science with digital tools to deliver farmer-centric solutions. Dr Ram Dhulipala, Director, CGIAR Digital Transformation Accelerator, emphasized that the project exemplifies how digital innovation can accelerate impact across agricultural systems. Dr Shalander Kumar, Deputy Global Research Program Director – Enabling Systems Transformation, ICRISAT, highlighted that this initiative offers a unique opportunity for the research institutions to collaborate and co-develop a solution that has immense potential for scaling across the Global South.