Agrisathi: A Multilingual AI-Based Advisory Platform for Smallholder Farmers in India

Abstract

India is home to over 120 million smallholder farmers, yet more than 80% lack timely access to expert agricultural advice, modern tools, or reliable markets, resulting in frequent crop losses, low productivity, and a widening digital divide. This paper presents AgriSathi, a multilingual, voice-assisted mobile platform designed to bridge these gaps by offering personalized crop advisory and real-time disease detection using artificial intelligence (AI). The platform integrates a regional-language voice assistant, image-based plant disease recognition, and a gamified community engagement model (AgriCreds) that incentivizes peer-to-peer support. Additionally, AgriSathi connects users to government schemes and verified agri-input providers, making it accessible even to digitally inexperienced farmers. This study outlines the system's architecture, technical methodologies, AI models employed, and its potential socio-economic impact on India's agricultural ecosystem.