ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad Organises RAISE Project Stakeholders Workshop on AI-based Rice Stress Evaluation

19 May 2026, Hyderabad

ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad organised the “RAISE-Rice AI Stress Evaluator” Project Stakeholders Workshop today at Hyderabad, highlighting the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in modern agriculture and digital advisory services for farmers.

AI-based models are increasingly being utilised in agriculture for rapid identification of crop-related stresses through image analysis and for providing immediate management recommendations. In this context, the “RAISE-Rice AI Stress Evaluator” project, funded by Sree PVF, has been developed to deliver technical advisory services to farmers on major rice crop stresses through the RAISE mobile application, which has been deployed on the Play Store.

The workshop was chaired by Dr R.M. Sundaram, Director, ICAR-IIRR. Dr V. Sudha Rani, Former Director, Extension Education, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), attended the programme as the Chief Guest.

Addressing the gathering, Dr R.M. Sundaram emphasised the importance of digital technologies in delivering timely and accurate advisories to farmers. He stated that the RAISE mobile application would facilitate easy identification of problems occurring in rice crops and provide suitable management recommendations. He further highlighted the need to incorporate geo-tagging facilities for images uploaded by farmers through the application, which would help identify regions with higher incidences of specific pests or diseases.

He stated that such information could support the generation of forewarning alerts and enable dissemination of appropriate management advisories to farmers in affected regions during upcoming crop seasons.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr V. Sudha Rani observed that the role of smart tools in agricultural extension is increasing significantly and that such applications would prove highly beneficial to farmers. She offered several suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the RAISE application, including providing advisories in farmers’ local languages and simplifying the photo-uploading process within the app.

She also stressed the importance of validating the application across different agro-climatic zones, ensuring compatibility with all types of mobile phones, and developing a user-friendly interface suitable for farmers. Further, she suggested integrating an anchor-based chatbot validation mechanism within the application to provide more accurate responses to farmers’ queries.

During the programme, the dignitaries released the RAISE project brochure, which highlighted the project objectives, key features of the application, and services offered to farmers.

A team of scientists associated with the RAISE project presented the major features, functioning, and usage methodology of the application. The programme also featured live demonstrations of the RAISE app, user feedback sessions, and interactive discussions.

A total of 60 participants, including 20 women and 40 men, actively participated in the workshop. The participants included FPOs and farmers from Bhuvanagiri and Kothakota in Telangana, Agricultural Officers (AOs), Assistant Agricultural Officers (AAOs) from FTO, scientists and professors from PJTSAU, EEI, ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, along with agri-startups Agrythm and CropIn, and students.

(Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad)