Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra: India Brings AI Advisory to the Farmer’s WhatsApp

India has taken a major digital agriculture step with the launch of Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra, the country’s first nationwide WhatsApp-based AI advisory service dedicated to oilseed farmers. Developed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, the platform brings scientific crop guidance directly to farmers in their own language, at any time of the day. The initiative comes as India enters the kharif sowing season with a clear national priority: increasing domestic oilseed production and reducing dependence on edible oil imports.

The strength of Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra lies in its simplicity. Farmers do not need to install a new app, visit an office, or wait for field-level support. They can save the number +91 4024598180 on WhatsApp and ask questions in any Indian language. The chatbot provides free, instant and research-based answers on crops such as groundnut, mustard, sesame, sunflower, soybean, niger and other oilseeds. Its advisory covers variety selection, crop management, pest and disease control, irrigation practices, post-harvest handling and seed availability.

The service was launched on 6 February 2026 during the National Oilseeds Conference in New Delhi by the Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR. Its launch reflects a wider movement in Indian agriculture where digital tools are being used to shorten the distance between the laboratory and the farmer’s field. Instead of limiting expert knowledge to research stations and extension manuals, ICAR is placing that knowledge inside a platform already used by millions of rural citizens.

The knowledge base behind the chatbot has been built through the combined expertise of several ICAR institutions. These include ICAR-IIOR Hyderabad, ICAR-National Soybean Research Institute Indore, ICAR-Indian Institute of Groundnut Research Junagadh, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rapeseed and Mustard Research Bharatpur, and the PC-Unit for Sesame and Niger. This makes the system more than a simple chatbot. It functions as a multilingual digital extension worker backed by crop-specific research from India’s oilseed science network.

For small and marginal farmers, timing is critical. A delay in identifying pest symptoms, choosing the right variety, managing irrigation or applying disease control can reduce yield and income. A 24×7 advisory tool can help farmers make faster decisions during the crop cycle. It also helps overcome three old barriers in agricultural extension: distance, language and cost. A farmer in a village can ask a question in a regional language and receive practical guidance without travelling, paying consultation fees, or navigating complex technical documents.

Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra also has strategic value for India’s food and farm economy. Edible oil imports place a heavy burden on the country’s import bill, while domestic oilseed cultivation supports farmer incomes, crop diversification and agro-processing. By improving access to scientific advice, the platform can support better productivity across major oilseed belts. It gives farmers a direct channel to trusted information during sowing, crop protection, irrigation and harvesting stages.

This initiative shows how artificial intelligence can serve Bharat when it is built around real field needs. The farmer does not need to understand AI. The farmer only needs a phone, WhatsApp and a question. Behind that simple interaction stands India’s agricultural research system, working to make oilseed farming more informed, timely and productive.

Source: PIB