Accelerating Climate Resilient Agriculture in Telangana (ACRAT)

Data Driven Agro Ecological TestHubs provide farmers with decisionsupport systems to adapt to changing climatic and environmental conditions and reduce the use of external inputs

Agriculture in India

India’s agricultural sector is the backbone of its economy, supporting millions of especially small and marginal farmers. Climate change, environmental challenge and widespread monocropping have reduced biodiversity, making farms more vulnerable to pests, diseases, and climate shifts. Tackling these issues demands an integrated approach. ACRAT adopts a unique approach, combining ecological principles with advanced technologies to enhance resilience and sustainability for India’s farmers.

Portrait of India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia.

It is the seventh largest country by area, with 3,287,263 km², and since 2023 the most populous country with a population of around 1.4 billion people.

The Project

The ACRAT project adopts a multi-stakeholder approach to build a resilient and sustainable agricultural framework. By leveraging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), it develops data-driven solutions responding to the needs of small-scale farmers in Telangana. Through technology integration on the field, capacity building and ongoing collaboration with stakeholders, it helps
to promote agroecological measures among the target group, taking into consideration international data standards in agriculture and contributing to data sovereignty of individual farmers.

Project Goals

Build climate resilience for small-scale farmers
Promote sustainable farming practices for improved productivity and soil health
Empower farmers with tailored, data-driven solutions using AI and IoT
Foster multi-stakeholder collaboration for holistic development
Contribute to the validation of international agricultural data standards

Results and Successes

Conducted studies and consultations to understand agroecological systems, challenges, and policies in Telangana and India
Onboarded 5 digital technologies among 55 farmers to collect data in the field
Held 2 tech-awareness workshops and 1 capacity-building program at farmer producer organisation level
Established a mentor program with local researchers, providing crop-specific agronomy guidelines for enhanced agroecological practices