Quad Powers Launch $6M AI Farming Projects to Boost Global Food Security

The program, called Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen AGriculturE, or AI-ENGAGE, will support six international research projects, officials said on Thursday.

The NSF is investing $2.4 million in the effort.

The initiative is being carried out with partner agencies in Australia, India and Japan.

It brings together the NSF, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

NSF described the effort as "a signature achievement of the Quad, demonstrating how the four nations' shared commitment to critical and emerging technologies research can transform agriculture to address pressing global challenges".

The projects will apply artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to farming.

The goal is to help farmers increase crop yields, manage pests more effectively, and strengthen resilience.

"By integrating current and emerging technologies, like AI, into agriculture, we are advancing scientific frontiers to provide US farmers and their international counterparts with tools they need to increase crop yields, more effectively manage pests, strengthen agricultural resilience, and ensure a more secure food supply," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of NSF Director.

The six projects are spread across major US universities and involve researchers from at least three Quad countries.

Purdue University will develop autonomous aerial and ground robots for early disease detection in apple orchards.

Iowa State University will build "BRIDGE", an AI-based smartphone app and chatbot to help farmers identify and manage crop pests and diseases in real time.

Kansas State University will implement "Smart Scout", a computer vision system to estimate soybean yield and detect "lodging", or crops falling over.

Missouri University of Science and Technology and the University of Tennessee will develop the "HARVEST" system. It will use multimodal AI for pest and nutrient management in corn and rice.

Washington State University will advance AI-driven genomic selection models to develop more resilient and productive wheat varieties.

Cornell University will create image-based phenotyping tools to speed up breeding of high-quality tomatoes, onions and strawberries.

Each project must include researchers from at least three of the four Quad nations.

Each partner agency will fund its own researchers.

NSF is contributing about $2.4 million to US leads and leveraging about $4 million from the other Quad partners.

The total investment exceeds $6 million.

The Quad -- the United States, India, Japan and Australia -- has expanded cooperation in recent years beyond security to include critical technologies, supply chains and climate resilience.

Food security and agricultural innovation have become shared priorities as climate risks and supply disruptions increase across the Indo-Pacific.

- IANS