The Gates Foundation will work with the Indian government to strengthen AI-powered digital tools for farmers and explore whether India's agriculture technology models can be replicated across Asia and Africa, its Chief Executive Officer Mark Suzman said on Thursday.Speaking to the media after meeting Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Suzman said the discussions focused on India's growing use of artificial intelligence (AI), digital public infrastructure and technology in agriculture.The partnership will look at strengthening tools that can help farmers with weather forecasts, soil health information, agricultural advisory services, crop productivity and access to markets and pricing information.Also Read: Russian-speaking cybercriminals used SpaceX's Cursor AI tool to hack seven companies"The other area we had deep discussion on was around the increasing sophistication of the agri-stack process and new initiatives like the Bharat-VISTAAR programmes which are providing AI-enabled digital tools for farmers, especially women across India," Suzman said.He said AI-enabled agriculture tools could help farmers access weather forecasting, digital soil health mapping, improved extension services and better information on prices and markets."We agreed that we would work together to help build those and make them more robust and again see if we can use them as models to show in other parts of the world, both across Asia and Africa," Suzman said.India’s digital infrastructure could help scale AI in agricultureSuzman said India's experience in building digital public infrastructure (DPI) gives the country an opportunity to develop agriculture technology solutions that could be adapted by other developing economies."Those are models which again we think India, based on its long background in digital public infrastructure, is already leading the world," he said.The discussions also covered the Gates Foundation's existing work with the Indian government on rural livelihoods and women's economic empowerment, including support for the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.The Foundation is also expanding research partnerships with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in areas including livestock and crop improvement.Also Read: AI adoption surges in Asia as companies set up new hubs in Singapore, India"We have much stronger partnerships in research and development with ICAR, working in areas like livestock and crop improvements because those are critical areas where India now has deep expertise in helping improve productivity," Suzman said.The Gates Foundation sees potential for India's agricultural research, technology and innovations to be used more widely across the Global South, particularly in developing economies in Asia and Africa.The collaboration comes as India increasingly uses AI and digital public infrastructure to modernise agriculture, with technology being deployed to improve access to information and services for farmers.Suzman said these Indian models could align with the country's broader development ambitions under the Viksit Bharat vision while also offering potential solutions for other developing countries.(With inputs from ANI)