€4 Million Grant for Groundbreaking AI Research into Sustainable Agriculture

Artificial intelligence could soon play a major role in making agriculture more sustainable. A team of researchers led by Utrecht University has been awarded a €4 million grant from the European EIC Pathfinder Challenges programme to develop AI technology that can help crops grow stronger and healthier using naturally occurring soil bacteria.

The researchers aim to build a new AI system that can predict which bacteria are beneficial for different agricultural crops. These bacteria can help plants grow better, stay healthier and become more resistant to drought, salinity, insects and other environmental stresses. By supporting plants naturally around their roots, the bacteria could reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Making crops more resilient to climate change

New solutions are urgently needed to protect global food production from climate change and soil degradation, says bioinformatics researcher Ronnie de Jonge, who leads the project. Traditional farming methods, which heavily depend on fertilizers and pesticides, are becoming increasingly unsustainable.

Microorganisms living in the soil around plant roots offer a promising alternative. These microbes can help plants absorb nutrients more efficiently and improve their resistance to difficult conditions.

Scientists can already add beneficial bacteria to soil, but the results are often unpredictable. “We still do not fully understand how these microbial communities form and function,” says De Jonge. “As a result, it is often still a matter of trial and error, hoping for a good outcome.”

The best microbial combinations

The new project aims to change that. Using advanced AI techniques, the researchers will develop a computational model that can predict which combinations of microbes work best for specific crops and environmental conditions.

The model will be trained on hundreds of thousands of datasets about plant microbes, combined with detailed information about plants, soil and climate. By bringing together these massive amounts of data, the AI system will be able to design new microbial combinations that improve crop performance.

From trial and error to targeted experimentation

“This is a fundamentally different way of improving crops using microbes,” De Jonge explains. “We are moving away from simply trying things out and hoping for success, towards carefully designed and targeted experiments. That could greatly accelerate the development of more sustainable agriculture.”

That could greatly accelerate the development of more sustainable agriculture

The researchers will first test their approach on crops including wheat, tomatoes and apples under a variety of climate conditions. Over time, the AI system will continue to improve and refine its predictions.

Available worldwide

Ultimately, the researchers hope the AI system will become a valuable tool for scientists and companies working on sustainable agriculture around the world. The model should not only predict which microbial combinations work best, but also help design entirely new combinations that make crops stronger and healthier.

The researchers also expect the model to help predict how healthy and resilient crops are based on the microorganisms living in the soil. For example, it could provide insights into how well plants can withstand diseases, insect damage and drought.

With this technology, we can better understand what makes soil healthy and how crops can become more resistant to drought, diseases and other effects of climate change

De Jonge: “With this technology, we can better understand what makes soil healthy and how crops can become more resistant to drought, diseases and other effects of climate change. In the future, this could help farmers worldwide produce food in a more sustainable and resilient way.”