Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) announces that it has partnered with NCE Laboratories India for developing solutions to detect crop diseases using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
TANU and NEC Laboratories recently signed a memorandum of understanding to establish this collaboration.
According to a release, NEC seeks to help identify illness and deficiency categories and give cures through agricultural experts under the terms of the MoU.
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NEC plans to develop an artificial intelligence-powered smartphone application, while TNAU would provide expert advice and assist in data collection to diagnose diseases. The signing of the MoU was witnessed by NEC Laboratories India senior vice-president and head Keiji Yamada, TNAU Registrar and acting vice-chancellor A S Krishnamoorthy, and senior officials from the Center for Plant Protection Studies.
Keiji Yamada said, “We are proud to be partnering with TNAU in new ways of applying AI and analytics to resolve crucial issues in agriculture in real-time.” He further added that this collaboration is vital and relevant since India is also one of the world’s major food producers, in addition to being a predominantly agricultural society.
The combined expertise of both entities in their respective fields will be crucial in developing artificial intelligence solutions for the challenge of crop disease detection.
The United Nations claimed that farmers across the globe lose nearly 40% of their produce due to diseases and insects which infect plants. The agriculture industry in India is burdened with the challenge of crop losses of 30-60%. Diseases (15-25%), soil nutrient shortage (36.5%), insects, and pests, which reduce crop output by 10-40%, are the primary causes of loss.
Therefore, the technology jointly developed by TNAU and NEC Laboratories will considerably help farmers minimize their losses by detecting diseases at a very early stage and aid in taking measures.
