‘AI does not benefit agriculture’: DK Shivakumar questions Centre over Bharat-VISTAAR tool

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday criticised the Centre’s 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.

“They 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 support”, Shivakumar said.

AI tool 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭-𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐀𝐑 (𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬) set to be launched, enhancing farm productivity, enabling better decisions for farmers and reducing risk by providing… pic.twitter.com/PrImqYAJnJ

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Shivakumar stressed that farmers’ crops should instead be encouraged for silk production and questioned the Centre’s failure to raise sugar prices.

“Why 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 increased”, he said.

Reacting to the announcement of a high-speed train for Bengaluru, Shivakumar expressed doubts over its feasibility. “What 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 Karnataka”, he said.

He added that there were high expectations from the Centre for Bengaluru, highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks of referring the city as “global”. “There 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 information”, Shivakumar said. (ANI)