Gates Foundation Partners With India to Scale Agricultural AI

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is partnering with the Indian government to strengthen AI-enabled digital tools for farmers and evaluate the potential to replicate India's agricultural technology models across Asia and Africa. During a meeting in New Delhi on August 27, 2026, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman and Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan discussed leveraging digital public infrastructure for soil health mapping, weather forecasting, and market access.

The collaboration focuses on the Bharat-VISTAAR programmes, which provide AI tools to farmers with a specific emphasis on supporting women. The partnership also includes efforts to improve rural livelihoods through the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.

Additionally, the foundation will collaborate with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to conduct research on crop and livestock improvement. These initiatives aim to boost agricultural productivity across the Global South by using India's existing digital infrastructure as a global model.