Belém, Brazil — For Yuvraj Mohite, a sugarcane farmer in western India’s Kolhapur district, the Fasal app on his smartphone has become as essential as his tractor. The AI-powered platform — its name means “crop” in Hindi — uses on-farm sensors to guide irrigation and flag pest risks.
When heavy monsoon rains threatened his crop this year, the app’s precise watering advice helped him salvage 80 tons of sugarcane — well above the 60 tons he feared would survive the June deluge.
“The app helped save water and fertilizer, which led to cost-cutting too,” Mohite said, adding that his crop’s quality had also improved.
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About the author
Cheena Kapoorcheenakapoor
Cheena Kapoor is a Delhi-based independent journalist and photographer focusing on health, environmental, and social issues. Her work has been published by The Guardian, The Telegraph, Reuters, BBC, and Al Jazeera, among many others. Her long-term project "Forgotten daughters" about abandoned women in Indian mental asylums has been widely published and exhibited across Europe. Follow Cheena on Twitter and Instagram.
