A significant leap forward in agricultural news monitoring and analysis has been achieved with the development of Krishi 24/7, an AI-powered solution spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) in collaboration with Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI), and with the support of Google.org. This innovative tool is poised to revolutionize the way DA&FW identifies and responds to agricultural news, empowering them to make informed decisions that safeguard farmers’ interests and foster sustainable agricultural growth.
Krishi 24/7 addresses the critical need for an efficient mechanism to identify and manage agricultural news articles, ensuring timely decision-making. This remarkable solution scans news articles in multiple languages, translating them into English and extracting essential information such as headlines, crop names, event types, dates, locations, severity levels, summaries, and source links. This comprehensive data stream provides DA&FW with real-time updates on relevant agricultural events published online.
The launch of Krishi 24/7 was marked by the remarks of Secretary (A&FW) Shri Manoj Ahuja, who emphasized the tool’s potential not only to inform but also to empower DA&FW to shape the narrative surrounding agricultural news. He advocated for continuous improvement and adaptability, ensuring that Krishi 24/7 remains a dynamic force in the ever-changing landscape of information, serving as a valuable asset in DA&FW’s mission to better serve farmers.
Joint Secretary (Extension), Shri Samuel Praveen Kumar, provided insights into the solution’s functionalities, highlighting its ability to provide near real-time monitoring of online agricultural news articles. This feature enables DA&FW to identify news of interest, establish a comprehensive mechanism for shortlisting events, generate alerts, and take timely action.
Associate Director (Ag), Wadhwani AI, Mr. JP Tripathi, underscored the institute’s commitment to developing AI solutions that address existing challenges such as news monitoring and validation, which have traditionally been manual and time-consuming. He elaborated on the successful deployment of a similar event tracking and analysis solution for disease outbreaks in collaboration with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). By partnering with DA&FW and other central government bodies, Wadhwani AI aims to equip them with effective tools that enhance data-driven decision-making and improve the flow of information.