The AI Divide in Indian Agriculture: Prosperity, Exclusion and the Future of Rural Livelihoods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20777259Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Digital Agriculture, Rural Livelihoods, Technology Adoption, Digital DivideAbstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming agriculture by enabling data-driven decision-making, precision input management, pest and disease forecasting, weather-based advisories, and market intelligence. In India, where agriculture continues to support millions of livelihoods, AI is increasingly viewed as a promising solution for enhancing productivity, profitability, and resilience. However, the benefits of AI may not be distributed equally across farming communities. Differences in access to digital infrastructure, financial resources, technical skills, and institutional support could create an “AI divide” between farmers who can effectively utilize emerging technologies and those who cannot. This article explores the economic implications of AI adoption in Indian agriculture, identifies potential winners and farmers at risk of exclusion, examines challenges associated with digital inequality, and discusses strategies for ensuring that AI contributes to inclusive rural development. The article argues that the future challenge is not merely deploying AI in agriculture but ensuring that its benefits reach smallholders, rural labourers, and resource-poor farming households.
References
Bontsa, N. V., Mushunje, A., & Ngarava, S. (2023). Factors influencing the perceptions of smallholder farmers towards adoption of digital technologies in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Agriculture, 13(8), Article 1471. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13081471
Collis, S., Kinyua, F., Kumar, V., Lakougna, H., Merz, C., Pandey, K., & Resch, C. (2026). Building AI-based advisory services for smallholder farmers: Technical learnings from the AIEP initiative [Preprint]. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.11537
Hoang, H. G., & Tran, H. D. (2023). Smallholder farmers’ perception and adoption of digital agricultural technologies: An empirical evidence from Vietnam. Outlook on Agriculture, 52(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/00307270231197825
John, D., Hussin, N., Shahibi, M. S., Ahmad, M., Hashim, H., & Ametefe, D. S. (2023). A systematic review on the factors governing precision agriculture adoption among small-scale farmers. Outlook on Agriculture, 52(4), 469–485. https://doi.org/10.1177/00307270231205640
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J. (2022). Economics of adoption for digital automated technologies in agriculture (FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper No. 22-10). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2624en
Lyu, Z., Jing, Z., & Yang, X. (2025). Bridging the digital divide for sustainable agriculture: How digital adoption strengthens farmer livelihood resilience. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, Article 1628588. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1628588
Rotz, S., Gravely, E., Mosby, I., Duncan, E., Finnis, E., Horgan, M., & Fraser, E. D. G. (2019). Automated pastures and the digital divide: How agricultural technologies are shaping labour and rural communities. Journal of Rural Studies, 68, 112–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.01.023
Singh, N., Wang’ombe, J., Okanga, N., Zelenska, T., Repishti, J., G. K., J., Mishra, S., Manokaran, R., Singh, V., Rafiq, M. I., Gandhi, R., & Nambi, A. (2024). Farmer.Chat: Scaling AI-powered agricultural services for smallholder farmers [Preprint]. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2409.08916
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2026, February 23). Unlocking capital for scalable agri-AI at AI4Agri Summit 2026 in Mumbai. https://www.fao.org/india/news/detail/unlocking-capital-for-scalable-agri-ai-at-ai4agri-summit-2026-in-mumbai/en
World Economic Forum. (2024, January 11). AI for agriculture: How Indian farmers are harnessing emerging technologies to sustainably increase productivity. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/01/ai-for-agriculture-in-india/
World Economic Forum. (2025). Future farming in India: A playbook for scaling artificial intelligence in agriculture. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_Farming_in_India_2025.pdf
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 M. J. S. L. Naga Durga, Manoj Kumar Dara, V. K. Choudhary
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
