BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 15. Thirteen solutions have been put into operation under Azerbaijan’s "Agricultural Artificial Intelligence" project, Deputy Agriculture Minister Ilhama Gadimova said today at a press conference dedicated to the project’s implementation and technological innovations in agriculture, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
She added that 11 more solutions are undergoing testing, 7 are still under development, and work has yet to begin on 2 others.
Gadimova said development work had been completed on 24 solutions in total. The systems support farmers at various stages of agricultural production, from crop selection and irrigation to assessing disease risks and determining the best time for spraying.
"The disease and pest risk forecasting solution calculates the risk of disease for a farmer’s field hour by hour and tracks the development stage of pests. It currently covers 18 diseases and pests affecting eight fruit crops. The spraying-time solution identifies suitable hours for treatment based on wind, rainfall, and temperature," she said.
According to Gadimova, four solutions under the crop suitability program are already operational. They help farmers select crops and varieties suited to local soil and climatic conditions and determine optimal planting times.
"The risk map for crop growth stages identifies cold and heat risks during sensitive periods based on 15 years of data. The risk alert for planted crops provides warnings of expected cold or heat in the coming days for the variety already planted by the farmer," she said.
Moreover, Gadimova added that three solutions under the irrigation management program were also in operation.
"The field-level water demand solution calculates daily evaporation, rainfall, and water balance to recommend when to irrigate. The same calculations are also performed at district and national levels. The dynamic soil moisture map uses satellite imagery to identify areas experiencing water shortages. This solution is currently planned for use in cotton fields," she said.
The deputy minister also noted that the farmer rating program assesses farms based on their economic performance, land and environmental management, and adoption of modern farming practices. It also identifies areas for improvement to help farmers raise their ratings.
