USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded 12 grants totaling over $7 million to initiate research into predictive technology innovations needed to keep U.S. agriculture on the leading edge of food and agricultural production. These range from big data analytics to artificial intelligence.
Dr. Parag Chitnis, acting director of USDA-NIFA, said, “Big data and artificial intelligence will increasingly play a vital role in the future of agricultural technologies. As we work to realize precision nutrition for consumers and enhance farmer profitability and agricultural sustainability, these predictive technologies will keep research and development moving quickly to provide the tools needed for success.”
Dr. Chitnis added that the researchers awarded the grants will not only deliver data-driven solutions to meet today’s challenges but will also “contribute to the growing body of science that will lead us to future technological advances not yet imagined to meet both current and future challenges.”