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Chasing peak sugar: India’s sugar cane farmers use AI to predict weather, fight pests and optimize harvests

Date: 08-Jan-2025

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Source: https://news.microsoft.com/source/asia/features/

Chasing peak sugar: India’s sugar cane farmers use AI to predict weather, fight pests and optimize harvests

Nimbut, Maharashtra, INDIA – “Ready?” Suresh Jagtap asks, then turns and disappears into a field of tall sugar canes. 

Inside is a world of dappled green. The 65-year-old farmer bats rustling leaves aside, clearing a swift path to a thin metal structure rising above.  

His family has been farming in the area for generations – vegetables, fruit, and, more recently, sugar cane. Over the years, climate change has made the weather more unpredictable and extreme, raising the risk of pests and disease. 

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