NEW DELHI– Google announced Friday that it is expanding its India-developed Agricultural Landscape Understanding (ALU) API and Agricultural Monitoring and Event Detection (AMED) API to “trusted testers” in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Japan.
The ALU API, first launched for Indian developers in October 2024, identifies fields, vegetation, and water bodies using remote sensing data. The AMED API builds on that capability by providing detailed, field-level insights into the most cultivated crops and their sowing and harvest timelines, with updates every 15 days to track key agricultural events.
Both APIs use machine learning and satellite data to help local developers, startups, and policymakers create affordable, data-driven agricultural tools. “These local use cases have delivered on our ambition for AI to assist targeted, data-driven action and solutions that benefit stakeholders across India’s agriculture landscape,” said Alok Talekar, Lead, Agriculture and Sustainability Research at Google DeepMind.
Google said successful deployments in India have demonstrated the APIs’ potential to strengthen sustainability and resilience across the agricultural sector. The tools are now used by startups, research institutions, and government programs to improve precision farming, optimize resource use, and enhance farm management practices.
In India, the APIs are being integrated into Krishi DSS, an Amnex platform for the agriculture ministry, to support advanced analytics for policymakers and field officers. The Council on Energy, Environment and Water plans to use the data to design targeted income-support mechanisms that encourage climate-friendly crops. Startups are also leveraging the APIs to deliver climate-smart advisory services to more than 10 million farmers and streamline rural credit access.
Google said the expansion across the Asia-Pacific region reflects growing global interest in AI-driven agricultural innovation and the success of India’s early adoption. (Source: IANS)
