Chandigarh, Jan 1 (NationPress) In an effort to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability through innovative technologies, the Punjab government announced on Thursday its plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the agriculture sector with the backing of a Centre of Excellence established at IIT Ropar.

The Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khudian, presided over a high-level review meeting at Punjab Bhawan to evaluate progress and formulate a strategy for the effective implementation of AI-driven solutions designed to boost farm productivity, promote sustainability, and increase farmers' income throughout the state.

During the discussions, Khudian stressed the importance of ensuring that advanced technologies yield concrete and quantifiable benefits for farmers at the grassroots level. He promised comprehensive support from the Punjab government for the execution of pilot projects and the expansion of successful AI-based interventions across various districts.

The minister also instructed relevant officials to aid in the setup of automatic weather stations, enhance farmer participation for field data collection, assist horticulture clusters, and broaden the application of AI solutions for livestock productivity improvement.

Khudian welcomed IIT Ropar's initiative to introduce national-level courses on precision agriculture and AI in farming, aimed at fostering skill development among youth and building the capacity of government officials. He mentioned that special seat reservations for Punjab students and officials would further bolster the state's talent pool in agri-technology.

He added that the collaboration between the Punjab government and IIT Ropar would establish the state as a leader and model for AI-driven agricultural transformation. The government's initiatives are anticipated to significantly improve resource efficiency, climate resilience, and sustainable growth in agriculture and its allied sectors.

During the meeting, Pushpendra P. Singh, Associate Professor at IIT Ropar, informed the minister and officials about key initiatives under the Centre of Excellence, which has a financial allocation of approximately Rs 310 crore supported by the Government of India.

He detailed the initiatives that encompass AI-based crop advisory systems, multilingual farmer chatbots, digital twins of crops, yield estimation models, soil health analytics, weather intelligence tools, and smart livestock management applications.