Winter School on ‘Applications of Deep Learning in Agriculture using Python’ organised

10^th February 2025, New Delhi

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, organized the Winter School on ‘Applications of Deep Learning in Agriculture using Python’ from 21^st January - 10th February 2025, sponsored by the Education Division, ICAR. The programme aimed to equip researchers and academicians with advanced artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques relevant to agriculture.

The Chief Guest, Dr R.C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Education), ICAR graced the occasion in hybrid mode. He emphasized the transformative potential of AI in agriculture. Dr Agrawal underscored the importance of leveraging the latest AI models, specifically mentioning DeepSeek and AlphaFold, and their significance for the future. He also referenced the book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” by Thomas Kuhn. Furthermore, he urged ICAR-IASRI, being a premier institute, should take up more projects in related areas of AI and work towards making applications of AI for the benefit of the farming community. 

The ceremony featured the official launch of the Virtual Centre for Excellence on AI in Agriculture an initiative to drive AI-based agricultural research. The Virtual Center has been established to serve as a centralized platform for consolidating information on AI-based products, and methodologies developed by ICAR institutes. 

A total of 46 applications were submitted, and 24 participants (20 males and 4 females) attended the training. The participants represented a range of institutions, with 10 from ICAR institutes and 14 from State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and other organizations, covering 14 different disciplines.

The training covered Python programming fundamentals, AI, ML, and deep learning applications in agriculture, including supervised and unsupervised learning, neural networks, and digital image processing using OpenCV, TensorFlow, and Keras. Participants received hands-on training on CNN architectures such as ResNet, EfficientNet, DenseNet, and InceptionNet, with practical applications in crop disease detection, severity estimation, and weed identification. The sessions also explored object detection and segmentation using YOLO and attention mechanisms, providing insights into AI-driven solutions for precision agriculture. Guest faculty were invited from Delhi University, the National Informatics Centre, and Rani Laxmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi.

The Winter School, inaugurated on January 21, 2025, featured Dr Seema Jaggi, Assistant Director General (HRD), ICAR, as the Chief Guest. She underscored the relevance of the topic and lauded ICAR-IASRI for its efforts in organizing capacity-building programs in related areas.

Dr Rajender Parsad, Director, ICAR-IASRI, emphasized the transformative role of AI in modern agriculture. 

This Winter School stands as a significant milestone in advancing AI-driven agricultural solutions, fostering innovation, and enhancing research capabilities in AI and deep learning in the agricultural domain.

(Source: ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi)