Transformative potential of GenAI in agriculture

GenAI presents itself as an invaluable tool in modern farming due to its ability to drive innovation and efficiency

With passing years, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly engrained in our everyday life. This is the case in agriculture too, where the integration of AI technologies is helping to solve real-world challenges through automation. Among the different types of AI technologies available, generative AI, also known as GenAI, presents itself as an invaluable tool in modern farming, due to its ability to drive innovation and efficiency.

Besides automating tasks like crop monitoring and disease detection, GenAI also helps farmers cut costs by optimising resource allocation and reducing waste. It also empowers farmers to make data-driven decisions regarding planting schedules, pest control strategies and harvesting times. GenAI is also capable of predicting climate patterns, allowing farmers to customise their farming practices to suit local conditions. This in turn makes it easy for them to prepare for and adapt to numerous climate change challenges.

Boosting productivity with E.L.Y.

German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Bayer’s crop science division in collaboration with Microsoft, recently launched Expert Learning for You (E.L.Y.) Crop Protection, aimed at simplifying crop management and supporting farmers in their success. The GenAI model helps navigate complex agronomic information, while delivering faster and more accurate results to farmers and customers who are seeking detailed information about Bayer’s agricultural products.

Global business lead for GenAI, Dan Kurdys argued against the common misconception that GenAI could inadvertently contribute to unemployment by displacing jobs. "GenAI is not about replacing people or taking away jobs," Kurdys emphasised. "It's about augmenting our everyday work and providing easy access to information that would otherwise be locked away in the minds of a few agronomists and their laptops. It's about saving institutional knowledge when someone retires or leaves the company, and I strongly believe it's a tool that can be used by Bayer and others to better serve farmers."

E.L.Y. Crop Protection is based on Microsoft’s Phi-3 SLM and is available on the Azure AI model catalog. Its ability to offer an affordable, bespoke and scalable foundation for agricultural entities irrespective of their size, makes it a game-changer for farmers. GenAI has a great potential for future growth in the agriculture sector, with its market size projected to reach US$2.19mn by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 30%.

Despite its numerous benefits however, deploying GenAI in agriculture comes with two main challenges that have a restraining effect on market growth. These include high upfront costs and privacy concerns, both of which can be addressed through efficient collaboration among farmers, technology developers and policymakers.