Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative

Dr. Michael Robertson, Executive Director Future Industries CSIRO

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is announcing the call for applications to the Quad AI-ENGAGE Initiative on behalf of the Australian Government and science partner agencies in India, Japan and the United States.

The Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative calls for cutting-edge research proposals in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), sensors and robotics to help transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers in the Indo-Pacific to increase yield and resilience.

By 2050, the world’s population is estimated to increase to 9.7 billion people, with a corresponding rise in food demand and pressure on land and water resources. Many of the impacts of these trends will be strongly felt in the Indo-Pacific region, but so will the hope for meaningful solutions.

The goal of AI-ENGAGE is to strengthen research collaboration among Quad countries and the broader Indo-Pacific region, improving the impact of critical technologies research, and growing our respective agricultural sectors.

CSIRO will work with the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Japan’s Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to implement AI-ENGAGE. AI-ENGAGE delivers a commitment by Quad leaders to support joint research to advance innovation in agriculture.

Australian researchers working in Australian research agencies are invited to participate in AI-ENGAGE proposals through applications for funds to host international researchers in Australia, or through CSIRO’s Industry PhD Program.

Research teams that include researchers from at least three of the Quad countries are invited to apply for the AI-Engage opportunities.