BAPATLA: Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Monday inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CEPHET) main building, a farm machinery workshop and training centre at Bapatla, and launched an AI-powered voice agent to provide round-the-clock agricultural advice to farmers in Telugu.
Established under Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) with Central support under the RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme, it aims to promote crop value addition, farm mechanisation and post-harvest technology across AP.
At the Bapatla Agricultural College auditorium, Atchannaidu launched the ANGRAU Innovative Kisan Network (AIKN), renamed it ‘Rythu Kosam’ and unveiled the accompanying ‘Rythu Kosam’ mobile application.
He launched ‘RIAA’ (Rythu Mitra Salahavani), an AI-powered Generative Voice Agent designed to provide 24/7 agricultural advisory services in Telugu, and released a book titled Agriculture Beyond Farming.
Developed by ANGRAU POSHAN Incubator and Farm Vaidhya in collaboration with KVK Ghantasala, RIAA provides guidance on paddy cultivation, fertiliser use and pest management.
The voice agent can handle up to 5,000 calls a day and does not require internet, enabling farmers to receive weather updates, pest warnings and expert advice through regular voice calls.
Atchannaidu urged agricultural scientists to develop “Preferred Varieties” suited to changing market demands and dietary habits. He said the government was committed to reducing input costs and increasing farm yields.
He stressed the need to leverage the combined strengths of Bapatla Agricultural College, Dr NTR Agricultural Engineering College and Dr NTR Food Science and Technology College to transform farming into a highly profitable enterprise.
He also referred to the `1,00,000-crore public-private partnership horticulture initiative launched in Madanapalle.
