ITC Ltd is leveraging its integrated 'phygital' ecosystem, ITCMAARS, powered by tech-enabled solutions, to strengthen farm resilience while improving productivity and farmer livelihoods, a senior company official announced on Tuesday.
Real-Time Crop Disease Detection
ITCMAARS enables real-time detection of plant diseases and delivers tailored remedial guidance to Indian farmers through its phygital ecosystem, which integrates hyperlocal and customized solutions such as the 'Crop Doctor', powered by AI and ML-based capabilities, the company stated.
"Our endeavor is to strengthen farm resilience while improving productivity and farmer livelihoods," said S Ganesh Kumar, Chief Executive of ITC Ltd's Agri Business Division, in a statement. He further emphasized that through the ITCMAARS phygital ecosystem, the company is committed to helping farmers with accessible, science-led solutions that support early detection, preventive action, and sustainable crop management.
AI-Powered Crop Doctor
The ITCMAARS 'Crop Doctor' allows farmers to diagnose crop diseases and pest infestations instantly using AI-based image analytics. It covers 70 different crops and has been used 300,000 times in a short span, enabling farmers to take corrective measures and prevent crop loss. Farmers can also seek personalized guidance from ITC's agri experts via the platform's direct engagement service, which provides support through toll-free lines in regional languages.
Krishi Mitra: AI Agri Co-pilot
The ITCMAARS ecosystem also includes 'Krishi Mitra', an AI-powered Agri co-pilot developed with Microsoft, a first of its kind globally, available in eight Indian languages. It has resolved nearly 200,000 unique farmer queries within two years, helping farmers make informed selling decisions, improve access to subsidies, practice precision farming, and prepare better for adverse weather events.
Climate Smart Agriculture
ITC's climate smart agriculture program currently promotes regenerative and nature-positive farming practices across 3.1 million acres in 19 states, benefiting over 1.2 million farmers to date.
