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From AI to solar power: PM Modi outlines vision to transform Indian agriculturePrime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that building a Viksit Bharat would be impossible without modernising agriculture and empowering farmers. Addressing the India Today Group’s Kisan Tak Bharat Agriculture Conference, he highlighted India's agricultural achievements, including over 4 per cent growth in the sector during the past decade and annual agricultural exports worth more than Rs 4 lakh crore. The PM also cited India's leading position in the production of milk, pulses, rice and jute, and stressed the need to diversify beyond traditional crops to increase farmers' incomes. Emphasising technology-driven farming, Modi called for greater adoption of artificial intelligence, drones, solar-powered equipment and modern agricultural machinery to improve productivity and reduce costs. He highlighted initiatives such as Namo Drone Didis, soil-testing laboratories, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Farmer Producer Organisations, saying farmers must be transformed into agripreneurs through value addition, food processing and better access to export markets. He also said the government was absorbing the impact of international price shocks to shield farmers from rising fertiliser and fuel costs. The Prime Minister also urged farmers to reduce chemical use and embrace natural farming, warning that excessive use of chemicals was damaging the soil and threatening the environment. Stressing the need to protect Mother Earth, he said natural farming could help make agriculture sustainable and profitable. He called for a future in which farmers are prosperous, villages thrive and farming becomes a modern, viable economic activity.