A crop that feeds and supports the livelihoods of more than 500 million people worldwide is getting an AI-powered push. Speaking about Google DeepMind's work in agriculture, AI Readiness Chief Lila Ibrahim highlighted a partnership with International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) aimed at accelerating research into jowar, or sorghum, a crop she described as both significant and historically under-researched.
For Ibrahim, the project reflects a broader trend she is seeing in India, where AI is being deployed to solve real-world problems at scale. She pointed to AnthroKrishi, an agricultural initiative working with around 600,000 farmers in India, as an example of how locally developed technology can have global relevance. According to Ibrahim, the programme has already been exported to 11 countries, underscoring what she described as an "India-first" approach to innovation.
"What I have been impressed with is not only what is happening in India, but also what we have been able to learn about global implications with an India-first approach," Ibrahim said, adding that India's diversity, technological mindset and focus on practical challenges have helped create solutions that can serve as a blueprint for the world.
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The focus on jowar follows a similar philosophy. Sorghum provides food, fuel and livestock feed for more than 500 million people globally, yet farmers face mounting challenges from drought, disease and climate-related pressures. Ibrahim noted that the crop has historically been treated as an "orphan crop," receiving significantly less research attention than major global staples.
Much of the existing research, she said, has been shaped by Western crop priorities rather than varieties indigenous to regions such as India and Africa. That has left important gaps in scientific understanding despite the crop's importance to food security and rural livelihoods.
To address this, Google DeepMind and ICRISAT are working on an open-source platform powered by AI tools that can help accelerate crop research and discovery. The goal is to enable researchers and crop breeders to develop more drought-resistant and disease-resistant varieties while strengthening the sustainability of agricultural supply chains.
Ibrahim described the effort as an opportunity to conduct "science at digital speed," suggesting that AI could help compress research timelines that traditionally span a decade or more. The project will also focus on building local research capacity and fostering innovation around the platform.
A key element of the initiative is the involvement of crop breeders and farmers from the outset. Rather than developing a solution first and seeking adoption later, Ibrahim said researchers are working closely with stakeholders to understand their needs and challenges from the beginning.
While still in the research phase, the initiative could have implications far beyond sorghum. For Ibrahim, the success of programmes such as AnthroKrishi and the new jowar partnership demonstrate how agricultural technologies developed in India can address local needs while offering lessons for farmers and researchers around the world.
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