Policy think tank NITI Aayog on Friday signed a Statement of Intent with information technology firm IBM to develop a crop-yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real-time advisories to farmers in backward districts.

The partnership aims to use technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield and control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes, an official release said.

The agreement was signed in the presence of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, IBM India.

“Bringing future technologies like Artificial Intelligence into practical use will have tremendous benefits for the practice of agriculture in the country, by improving efficiency in resource-use, crop yields and scientific farming,” Kant said.

In the first phase, the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts in the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the release said.