Global tech giants and homegrown startups have now zeroed in on India’s impoverished farm economy. The technological thrust comes at a time of an ongoing year-long protest by farmers’ groups against a move to liberalize the agriculture sector through three federal laws.
Only with time, the seedlings of these technological efforts will bear fruit ripe enough to stand through the perils of advancement.
A recent entrant in the sector that has raised many eyes is Wingsure, an insurtech venture spin-out of SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) that leverages artificial intelligence and deep technology to protect farmers worldwide.
Wingsure leverages artificial intelligence and deep technology to protect farmers worldwide. The company operates in developing nations and advanced countries, focusing on growers who are locked out of traditional financial services. Wingsure is dedicated to providing farmers with competitive levels of technology and security to maintain the dignity and sustainability of individuals worldwide.
What is on the plate?
Wingsure’s application leverages AI and machine learning (ML) to rapidly process insurance claims with the aid of SRI’s computer vision, geospatial and AR technology, which can confirm crop damage, identify the validity of insurance claims and make a prompt settlement.
In addition to its advanced AI and ML, Wingsure combines voice prompts and natural language processing to allow farmers to speak in their native language. The initial implementation will focus on India, where 70 percent of households are dependent on agriculture for their living.
Many are located in remote locations without access to financial services and cannot insure against crop failure or other unexpected events. The platform provides previously inaccessible services to this enormous market, where 800 million people are agri dependent.
“Farmers are the foundation of our society, but many farmers worldwide are exposed to risks that could cost them their livelihood and their land. We now have the technology to protect these small farmers anywhere in the world,” said Avi Basu, Founder and CEO of Wingsure.
Signs MoU with Telangana Government
The Telangana government entered into an agreement on September 22, 2021, with Wingsure to provide deep-tech-based personalized crop insurance products and advisory services to small, underserved farmers in the state.
The alliance is among the first in the global farming ecosystem and will help Telangana promote social inclusion and digital transformation in Indian agriculture. The Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITE&C) Department of the Government of Telangana will guide and facilitate the implementation of the solution.
Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, ITE and C, Telangana Government, said, “Technological advancement and implementation are ways to transform agriculture. The association with Wingsure will ensure hyper-local data correlation with deep technology to deliver numerous services for the individual smallholders.”
The agriculture department will offer on-ground implementation through its existing network. It will assist in prioritizing and disseminating critical training and advisory services for the farmers, including data acquisition.
Avi Basu, Founder and CEO of Wingsure, said, “The government of Telangana’s vision and understanding of the role of emerging technologies in impacting twenty million lives have led to the early adoption and implementation of AI in agriculture, for accelerated economic growth and inclusive social development.”
