ITCMAARS: How ITC Is Scaling AI-Powered Farming as a Service Across India

24 February 2026, New Delhi: ITC Limited is expanding the scope of its digital agriculture platform, ITCMAARS, with a sharper focus on artificial intelligence to power the next phase of inclusive, data-driven farm transformation. Building on its early success in delivering hyper-personalised advisory services to small and marginal farmers, the company now plans to extend AI-enabled solutions to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), organic farmers and rural communities at scale.

Announced in New Delhi on 23 February 2026, the initiative marks a significant step in ITC’s broader “Next Gen Agriculture” strategy under the leadership of Chairman Sanjiv Puri. With over a century of engagement in Indian agriculture, ITC said it aims to leverage ITCMAARS as a scalable digital agri-stack capable of reaching 10 million farmers in the coming years.

Expanding the Phygital Ecosystem for FPOs and Organic Farmers

Launched in 2022, ITCMAARS has evolved into what the company describes as a full-stack Farming as a Service (FaaS) ecosystem integrating digital tools, AI-driven advisory, market linkages and on-ground institutional support. The phygital model combines a farmer-centric super app with physical engagement through FPOs, positioning them as anchor institutions within the ecosystem.

ITC said a separate, customised application for FPOs is being further strengthened with AI solutions to enhance operational efficiencies and enable scale. As part of the next phase, the company is deploying Generative AI applications and Agentic AI capabilities to create what it terms an intelligence-driven, resilient and connected agri-stack.

According to ITC, the ITCMAARS community platform will be reinforced with AI-powered digital assistants and automated workflows designed to resolve a significant share of farmer queries in near real time, complementing expert agronomic advice. The company also plans to introduce a dedicated AI-enabled advisory platform tailored specifically for organic farming.

Measurable Impact, According to the Company

ITCMAARS has already benefitted more than 2.2 million farmers and over 2,100 FPOs across 11 states, according to the company. ITC further claims that pilot estimates from its integrated initiatives show a 10–15 percent reduction in fertiliser usage and a 15–20 percent improvement in crop yields. These gains, the company said, have contributed to an overall farm income enhancement of approximately 25 percent in intervention areas.

The platform’s expansion coincides with broader national discussions on applied AI in agriculture. At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, conversations have increasingly focused on inclusive, demonstrable AI applications addressing grassroots challenges. In this context, ITCMAARS has been positioned by the company as a scalable use case aligned with India’s AI philosophy of “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya.” ITC also noted that its initiatives align with the Government’s proposed ‘Bharat VISTAAR’ platform aimed at delivering multilingual, hyper-local advisories through an integrated Agri-stack.

AI at the Core: Krishi Mitra, Crop Calendar and Crop Doctor

At the heart of the ecosystem is Krishi Mitra, an AI-powered agri co-pilot developed in collaboration with Microsoft. ITC claims the tool is among the first of its kind globally and is currently available in eight Indian languages.

According to the company, Krishi Mitra has resolved nearly 200,000 unique farmer queries within two years, helping farmers make more informed decisions related to crop planning, input use, weather preparedness, subsidy access and market timing.

The platform also includes the AI-driven Crop Calendar, which ITC describes as a dynamic nudge engine designed to help farmers scientifically plan crop cycles across 53 crop varieties. Another feature, Crop Doctor, uses image analytics for real-time crop disease diagnosis and management recommendations. ITC said the tool covers 70 crops and has been used approximately 300,000 times, enabling timely corrective action and reducing crop losses.

Data-Driven Procurement and Climate Resilience

Beyond advisory services, ITC has strengthened its agri-procurement operations through Astra, a machine learning-powered crop sourcing model that, according to the company, enables spatial and temporal optimisation, efficient price discovery and predictive market intelligence. ITC said this has enhanced sourcing efficiency while ensuring improved market access for farmers.

Additionally, ITC stated that it has conducted farm-level assessments using Climate AI tools to analyse region- and crop-specific yield impacts linked to climate change. Based on these studies, the company said it is developing hotspot-specific micro-zone adaptation and mitigation plans through the ITCMAARS ecosystem.

ITC further mentioned that its broader Climate Smart Agriculture programme now covers 3.1 million acres across 19 states and has benefitted over 1.2 million farmers to date..

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