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Agriculturalists who are looking to utilize artificial
intelligence (AI) on their operations, whether it’s on the
farm or within an agribusiness, are in luck – and in a
big way.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) and
the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) recently
announced a $220 million investment into 11 new AI
research institutes.
“In the tradition of USDA-NIFA investments, these
new institutes leverage the scientific power of U.S.
land-grant universities informed by close partnership
with farmers, producers, educators, and innovators
to provide sustainable crop production solutions and
address these pressing societal challenges,” says Dr.
Carrie Castille, USDA-NIFA Director. “These innovation
centers will speed our ability to meet critical needs in
the future agricultural workforce, providing equitable
and fair market access, increasing nutrition security
and providing tools for climate-smart agriculture.”
The USDA-NIFA and NSF aligned with Google, Amazon,
Intel, Accenture, and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security to achieve its investment goals.
This funding will bring many AI
advancements into the agriculture
sector including:
•
AI: Human-AI Interaction and Collaboration
•
AI for Advances in Optimization
•
AI and Advanced Cyberinfrastructure
•
AI in Computer and Network Systems
•
AI in Dynamic Systems
•
AI-Augmented Learning
•
AI-Drive Innovation in Agriculture and the Food
System
The latest $220 million investment follows the first
round of investments that took place in 2020, totaling
$140 million into seven AI Research Institutes.
“I am delighted to announce the establishment of
new NSF National AI Research Institutes as we look
to expand into all 50 states,” said National Science
Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.
“These institutes are hubs for academia, industry and
government to accelerate discovery and innovation
in AI. Inspiring talent and ideas everywhere in this
important area will lead to new capabilities that
improve our lives from medicine to entertainment to
transportation and cybersecurity and position us in the
vanguard of competitiveness and prosperity.”
THE
11 NEW
AI RESEARCH INSTITUTES INCLUDES:
The USDA-NIFA Institute for Agricultural AI
for Transforming Workforce and Decision
Support (AgAID)
This institute will integrate AI methods into agriculture
operations for prediction, decision support, and
robotics-enabled agriculture to address complex ag
challenges related to labor, weather, water, and climate
change, led by Washington State University.
The USDA-NIFA AI Institute for Resilient
Agriculture (AIIRA)
This institute will work to transform agriculture
through AI-driven digital twins that model plants at
an unprecedented scale enabled by advancements
in computational theory, AI algorithms, and tools for
crop improvement and production resiliency to climate
change – led by Iowa State University.
PHOTOS: DS70/E+ via Getty Images, PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus
07
ACCELERATING
AI
INNOVATION
IN AGRICULTURE
11 new research institutes backed by $220M investment
from USDA-NIFA and NSF
RYAN RIDLEY
FARMS.COM
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