Bharat-VISTAAR: AI tool to lend a helping hand to farming sector

New Delhi: The government will launch a multi-lingual artificial intelligence tool ‘Bharat-VISTAAR’ to integrate agristack portals and ICAR package on farm practices, a move that will help provide customised advisory support to farmers. In her budget speech on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of ‘Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources)’.

“I propose to launch Bharat-VISTAAR - a multilingual AI tool that shall integrate the AgriStack portals and the ICAR package on agricultural practices with AI systems. This will enhance farm productivity, enable better decisions for farmers and reduce risk by providing customised advisory support,” she said. Commenting on the Budget proposal, Ankur Aggarwal, Chairman of CropLife India, said integrating Agri Stack’s digital farmer records with ICAR’s validated package of practices can support more precise, need-based decisions at the field level.

“However, digital advisory delivers results only when it is backed by effective on-ground extension systems that ensure guidance reaches farmers in time and is applied correctly in local conditions,” he added.