AI Gives Data Direction, Turning Insights into Action for Farming's Future: Satyukt Analytics’ Yukti Gill

In an interview with ResponsibleUs, Yukti Gill, Co-founder of Satyukt Analytics spoke about the origins of how they started the firm. The process was during the second half of 2018 — not an overnight thought but a gradual journey based on an urge to rectify real problems. With a decent academic foundation, PhD, and research experience, Gill understood that there was a chance to leverage their understanding of Earth observation and geospatial sciences towards developing impactful solutions. Understanding that research is more about processes than direct impact, they wanted to fill that gap. What began as a search for What's next? It became Satyukt Analytics.

Excerpts:

What is the contribution of AI and data analytics to sustainable farming?
AI and data analytics are farming's future, at least. Do you remember the line, "Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink"? Similarly, we are surrounded by data, but it needs direction. AI gives data that direction, drawing meaningful insights to scale processes and make them accessible at a mass level.

How is it helping farmers? How is it making an impact on agriculture?
Our technology focuses on soil nutrient identification. Traditionally, farmers or researchers had to physically visit fields, collect soil samples, and send them for lab testing. This process is not only time-consuming but also costly and labor-intensive, requiring expensive equipment and significant manpower.

AI transforms by accelerating and making it easier to access soil analysis. With AI-enabled equipment, we can scan through satellite images or employ sensors to gather data on soil fertility and nutrient levels remotely. This minimizes physical sampling, accelerates the process, and gives the farmer real-time feedback on his soil status.

Also, climate change has introduced new issues — increasing temperature, erratic rainfall, and changing weather patterns have made it difficult to depend solely on traditional knowledge. AI comes to the rescue by processing enormous amounts of data to forecast weather patterns, enhance irrigation, and recommend crop rotation timetables. These recommendations enable farmers to make well-informed decisions, thereby enhancing productivity as well as sustainability.

Lastly, the hope is to have these solutions in the hands of the many. Nobody can tackle world issues in agriculture on their own, but with the proper information and AI-powered insights, we can empower farmers with what they need to adapt and succeed. That's the kind of mass-scale effect that AI can have on agriculture.

What are the main environmental issues faced by Indian farmers today? You have been in the agricultural business for nearly a decade, so you would have experienced all these firsthand.
If we consider the environment as it is today, there are some anthropogenic factors — man-made factors — that negatively affect farming. Such as, emissions and pollution cause abnormal climatic changes, which subsequently cause floods and droughts. These changes will usually take farmers by surprise because they aren't so well educated or prepared despite having tilled the soil for so long.

The uncertainty of climate change has introduced new issues that are not resolvable by traditional knowledge. Climactic catastrophes may hit a farmer at any time, breaking the chain of agricultural activities. It is here that AI technologies and intelligent tools come in handy. By providing the farmer with timely information based on data, such technologies empower him with the resilience to follow a preventive approach and implement new protocols that allow him to improve his yield and safeguard it from climactic fluctuations. The access to such tools can be the difference between life and death for their sustenance and resilience.

What policy reforms do you believe are necessary to trigger sustainable agriculture practices faster in India?
While we are discussing decarbonisation and managing global warming, all countries must do their part. India has already done significantly in terms of sustainability, particularly after the 2015 Paris Agreement in which there was an ambition to cap global warming at 1.5°C. During COP26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the idea of Panchamrit — a five-faceted climate action strategy to become net-zero by 2070.

Although such initiatives are appreciable, policy interventions need to aim at greater cooperation among financial institutions, governments, and businesses. Farmers require access to credit to adopt sustainable practices, and incentives must be given for adopting climate-resilient practices. Policies must also aim at the adoption of technology by raising awareness and providing training programs, thus reaching even small farmers through AI-based solutions.

Secondly, transparency is required. There should be policies that require periodic data gathering and reporting on soil health, water usage, and emissions so that farmers can plan accordingly. A consistent framework through which various stakeholders — from policymakers to field-level farmers — work together would go a long way in accelerating sustainable farming in India.

They can be followed by greater transparency on the part of the government regarding how the carbon market can be established and operated. That is the greatest requirement currently.

Power Minister Manohar Khatra announced that India will have a carbon market by 2026. With farmers planting multiple crops and trees that sequester carbon, how crucial will agriculture's role be in this market?
It has always been discovered that agriculture is among the best methods of reducing carbon. Some of the methods are regarded as being significant, including BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage), direct carbon capture and storage, and applying captured carbon to make reusable products.

Achieving net-zero emissions — which is the buzzword today — requires short-term goals where afforestation and agriculture play imperative roles. Agriculture contributes significantly to GDP, both globally and in India, where it accounts for almost 70%. Therefore, Minister’s announcement is highly encouraging. Many stakeholders have been anticipating such a move, and the implementation of carbon credits in agriculture could bring diverse entities forward — from manufacturing and energy to automobiles.

And how can startups play a role in reducing carbon emissions in farming?
Startups have immense potential to drive change. In fact, SAT itself has developed a solution to estimate carbon footprints in soil — measuring carbon emissions per kilogram of yield, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These estimations depend on factors like farming practices, the type of irrigation methods used, and soil management techniques. By leveraging technology and providing farmers with data-driven insights, startups can empower the agricultural sector to adopt sustainable practices and contribute meaningfully to carbon reduction.

For example, if heavy machinery is being used for harvesting or other agricultural processes, that itself becomes a source of emissions. On the other hand, if manual labor is used, emissions might be lower. Additionally, certain practices like stubble burning contribute significantly to pollution. The key is ensuring that farmers have access to solutions that help reduce these emissions while improving efficiency.

How many clients do you have? I mean, how many farmers are you working with?
Our business model is quite inclusive. We work with anyone, and everyone involved in farming, whether they are individual farmers, cooperatives, or agricultural organizations. Rather than counting individual farmers, we count users — a user could be an entity representing many farmers. For example, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have been providing possible farmer-to-farmer collective voices.

We have currently on-boarded around 70,000 – 80,000 farmers across the world and not just in India. According to the indirect impact farmers that our users could leverage, it could run into numbers exceeding a lakh or more.

What does your SaaS model and mobile application do to help the farmer improve soil health, manage irrigation, and prevent pest diseases to make agriculture efficient and sustainable?
Through our SaaS model coupled with quite advanced mobile application, we provide remote information to farmers. We can easily know soil health with just a 10m x 10m resolution satellite imagery of their land, for instance.

Nutrient analysis (like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Soil Organic Carbon, and pH) is offered by our platform. If a farmer is aware of the deficiencies that nutrients likely possess before the situation becomes evident, corrective measures in terms of right fertilizer applications can be done immediately. Crop health is optimized, and production is boosted.

The other thing we provide is irrigation management where farmers will be guided on when irrigation is and how much water is to be used. Most of the times, as you know, the paddy fields are always flooded before planting, but there are other methods like alternate wetting and drying which are more sustainable and reduce the amount of water for keeping a good productivity.

Such tools are what we look to invest in for making farming more efficient, sustainable, and profitable for the farmers around.

This is generally the way, but if we bring in technology earlier, like ours, we will know exactly when and how much to irrigate. Thus, farmers can plan their activities, accordingly, thereby ultimately increasing productivity and yield.

Another one of our solutions is pests and diseases early warning systems and diagnosis. For instance, unlike others being mostly naturally occurring in paddy fields, particular pests and diseases are most likely to happen. The technology can predict possible pest attack for which preparedness measures may be taken by farmers. In case of a pest or disease that occurs after sowing, our expert advisory provides timely advisory and prescribes suitable remedies.

We do not promote a particular brand for our recommendations. Instead, we direct farmers on the chemical makeup of efficient solutions. This type of support can be a game-changer for farmers and make agriculture more resilient and sustainable.

Being a woman and leading a tech company as a co-founder, what have been the biggest challenges you have faced? And what achievements are you most proud of?
The biggest challenge of all is breaking that perception that a woman cannot lead in a tech-driven industry. This bias isn't only upon men; it's there among women, too. People often assume that tech and agriculture are male-dominated spaces and challenging that mindset has been tough.

Whenever we try to deploy a new solution, this bias comes up. There’s a belief that “this isn’t a space for women.” But that’s simply not true. There have been so many women who broke the mould, giving us wonderful examples in the fields of science and technology. Take the case of Kalpana Chawla, the astronaut who did it against all odds, or India's so-called "Rocket Woman" Ritu Karidhal, and her contributions to India's Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions. And then there is India's own "Missile Woman," Tessy Thomas. These women showed that gender was nothing when it comes to capability.

On the achievement front, when we started this process, we had just one or two variables to work with while solving agricultural issues. Now, we're addressing several issues, mainly those faced by small farmers in regions where agriculture is heavily tradition-based. In India, 70% of the women workforce engaged in agriculture is carried out by women. Women make up about 40% of the agricultural laborers worldwide. Being able to create solutions that empower women farmers and make agriculture more efficient is something I am proud of.

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