NEWS RELEASE

Experts Meet in Washington, DC to Develop Research, Policy & Funding Recommendations for AI in Agriculture

DAVIS, CALIFORNIA – August 1, 2024. There’s no doubt that a growing global population and challenging environmental conditions demand agricultural innovation. Top scientists gathered this week to collaborate on solutions to the pressing worldwide problem of feeding a vast global population amid unprecedented environmental events.

The AI for Agriculture Summit and Visioning Conference — held July 29–31, 2024 at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in Washington, DC — was a collaboration of experts from academia, industry, NGOs, and government agencies.

These bright minds gathered to develop a long-term technical vision and implementation strategy for leveraging AI agricultural advancements.

“We all have a vested interest in making sure we get this right,”

- keynote speaker Janie Hipp, CEO/President, Native Agriculture Financial Services and longtime agricultural lawyer.

The outcome of the summit will be a white paper sharing recommendations for researchers, policy makers, and funding agencies. These key priorities will lay the foundation for a plan to carry us through a rapidly changing agricultural future.

“AI is evolving quickly, and we need to be on top of the legal and regulatory piece,” Hipp continued. “We need to find ways to collaborate among the institutes, and with the sector itself, so that all interests are at the table from the smallest farmer up to the largest corporate player.”

The summit was hosted by the five USDA National AI Institutes.

• Artificial Intelligence for Future Agricultural Resilience, Management, and Sustainability (AIFARMS)
• AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS)
• Institute for Agricultural AI for Transforming Workforce and Decision Support (AgAID)
• The AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture (AIIRA)
• AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy (AI-CLIMATE)

About the AI Agricultural Institutes

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture–National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) began establishing AI Institutes in 2020 to serve as national nexus points for collaborative AI efforts with five institutes specifically focusing on AI in agriculture.

About AIFS

AIFS aims to solve the world’s biggest challenges to crop and food production facing our planet: ensuring a sustainable, nutritious, efficient, and safe food supply while mitigating the impacts of climate change.

About NASEM

The National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Media Contact:

Kristin Singhasemanon

AIFS Communications and Marketing Coordinator