Website Wadhwani AI
ABOUT THE PROJECT
CottonAce is an AI-powered early warning system available through an app on Android smartphones. It helps farmers protect their crops by determining the right time to spray pesticides through immediate, localized advice.
The primary user of our solution is a cotton farmer who has installed pest traps and works closely with farmer welfare programs to manage pest infestations – referred to as a ‘Lead Farmer’. Lead farmers or extension workers will install the CottonAce app and upload a photo of pests collected in commonly-used pheromone traps to the CottonAce app. The AI algorithm identifies and counts the pests in the photo and determines the level of infestation, based on which a set of actionable advisories is given to the farmer. This information is shared with neighboring ‘cascade’ farmers, for whom no additional tools, including smartphones, are necessary.
The app works on a simple smartphone and even works offline in places with the low network coverage. It is available in 9 languages (English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Odia, and Punjabi).
ABOUT US
The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI) is an independent nonprofit institute developing AI-based solutions for underserved communities in developing countries.
We work with over 40 partners including key government agencies, international development organizations, NGOs, and research organizations to identify real-world challenges and create and deploy innovative AI solutions to reach intended users and beneficiaries – with the objective of creating sustainable, scalable impact.
Our projects are supported by leading philanthropies such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and Google.org. Our accolades include winning the Google AI Impact Challenge (one among 20 out of 2600 competitors globally) as well as multiple awards at the 2021 Fast Company World Changing Ideas.
Our current portfolio of initiatives spans tuberculosis, maternal, newborn & child health, Covid-19, and cotton farming.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Managing / Coordinating with partners and research organizations assisting them in field-related activities
- Managing and coordinating the data received from the partners and research organizations
- Coordination between the WIAI team and partner organizations
- Ensure implementation of field protocols with the help of partners
- Conducting training and feedback sessions with lead farmers, field staff and program partners, and research organizations
- Supervising and assisting field planning efforts for periodical data collection for Monitoring &
- Evaluation studies as per the defined methodology for trap-based solutions and other use cases
- Performing spot checks on deployment, data collection, and smooth implementation of the program
- Undertaking frequent travel as and when required in order to ensure the smooth deployment of the solutions.
- Collection of filed data and supervising the data collection activities by the field staff
- Coordinating with field officials of partner organizations and assisting in other field-related activities
- Undertaking any activity needed to achieve the above objectives including travel, phone calls, etc.
REQUIREMENTS
- Post-Graduation in Agriculture or allied social science subjects
- Minimum 8 years of experience working with agriculture projects, state government, and non-profit organizations
- Good experience in field survey implementation and management experience
To apply for this job please visit www.wadhwaniai.org.
