New Delhi, 23 February, 2026: ITC Limited has announced plans to expand its AI-enabled agriculture platform, ITCMAARS, to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), organic farmers and rural communities. The initiative builds on the company’s existing digital agriculture model that integrates artificial intelligence with on-ground support systems.
Launched in 2022, ITCMAARS has evolved into a full-stack Farming as a Service (FaaS) platform combining a digital superapp with field-level engagement through FPOs. The platform currently supports over 2.2 million farmers and more than 2,100 FPOs across 11 states.
According to ITC, pilot assessments indicate that integrated interventions through the platform have resulted in a 10–15% reduction in fertiliser usage and a 15–20% improvement in crop yields, contributing to an estimated 25% increase in farm incomes.
The next phase of expansion includes the deployment of Generative AI and Agentic AI capabilities to improve operational efficiencies of FPOs and strengthen community-level knowledge exchange. ITC also plans to introduce an AI-enabled advisory platform tailored specifically for organic farming.
At the core of the ecosystem is Krishi Mitra, an AI-powered digital assistant developed in collaboration with Microsoft. Available in eight Indian languages, it addresses farmer queries related to crops, weather, pricing and government schemes. Over the past two years, it has resolved nearly two lakh unique farmer queries.
The platform also includes Crop Calendar, an AI-driven planning tool covering 53 crop varieties, and Crop Doctor, an image-based crop disease diagnostic feature covering 70 crops. Crop Doctor has been used approximately three lakh times for disease identification and advisory support.
In addition, ITC uses a machine learning-based crop sourcing model, Astra, to support procurement decisions and market access. The company has also conducted farm-level climate studies using Climate AI tools to assess crop- and region-specific climate risks. These findings inform adaptation plans within ITC’s Climate Smart Agriculture programme, which currently covers 31 lakh acres across 19 states and benefits over 12 lakh farmers.
Mr. S Ganesh Kumar, Divisional Chief Executive, Agri Business, ITC Ltd., said, “Today, ITC’s Next Generation Agriculture initiative is powered by the ITCMAARS, a full range crop-agnostic ‘phygital’ model that aims to democratize the access of latest technologies for small farmers, helping them win over critical challenges of climate change, crop management and market access. Our AI strategy in agriculture focuses on orchestrating a multi-stakeholder inclusive ecosystem that aims to enhance efficiency at every node of farming operation from crop planning, climate-smart advisories, production, input linkages, procurement and market discovery. We are continuously innovating and forging new partnerships to progressively enhance the scope of AI applications for diverse agri stakeholders and specific farming needs."
The expansion of ITCMAARS aligns with broader national efforts to integrate AI into agriculture and provide farmers with hyper-local, multilingual advisories through digital platforms.
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