BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday criticised the Centreโs proposal to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the agricultural sector, saying such measures will not provide real benefits to farmers.
His remarks came after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, announced the launch of Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual AI-based platform that will integrate AgriStack portals and the ICAR package on agricultural practices with AI systems. The initiative aims to boost farm productivity, support better decision-making by farmers and reduce risks through customised advisory services.
โThey are talking about using AI even in MGNREGA to decide wages. But they did not pay wages during the agricultural season. AI does not benefit agriculture. What farmers need is real supportโ, Shivakumar said.
AI tool ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ญ-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ) set to be launched, enhancing farm productivity, enabling better decisions for farmers and reducing risk by providingโฆ pic.twitter.com/PrImqYAJnJ
โ BJP (@BJP4India) February 1, 2026
Shivakumar stressed that farmersโ crops should instead be encouraged for silk production and questioned the Centreโs failure to raise sugar prices.
โWhy has the sugar price not been increased? Farmers are suffering huge losses because of this. If the sugar price is not raised, the cooperative sector will come to the point of closure. Sugarcane is grown in five districts of our region. What help has the Centre given to farmers? Even after eight to nine years, the sugar price has not been increasedโ, he said.
Reacting to the announcement of a high-speed train for Bengaluru, Shivakumar expressed doubts over its feasibility. โWhat high-speed train? No speed train will come. The 50:50 funding model will not work. If necessary, we are ready for a 90:10 model, with the Centre contributing 90 per cent and the state 10 per cent. They have done this for other states, so they should do the same for Karnatakaโ, he said.
He added that there were high expectations from the Centre for Bengaluru, highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modiโs remarks of referring the city as โglobalโ. โThere were high expectations about Bengaluru. Prime Minister Modi himself called it a global city. What emphasis has he given to that global city? I will speak about this in detail after getting complete informationโ, Shivakumar said. (ANI)
