AI for Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture- Professor Po Yang

Abstract: Agriculture is facing increasing pressures from climate change, resource constraints, environmental challenges, and the need to maintain productivity and profitability. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant opportunities to support more efficient and sustainable agricultural systems but translating AI from laboratory models into real-world farming practice remains a major challenge. Agricultural environments are highly dynamic, heterogeneous, and uncertain, therefore AI systems have to be respond to changing conditions, provide understandable recommendations, and operate reliably in practical settings. In this talk, Prof. Po Yang will present a vision for responsive, explainable, and deployable AI for sustainable and resilient agriculture, drawing on a range of UKRI-funded research projects led by his team at the University of Sheffield. The talk will explore how multimodal data, machine learning, computer vision, IoT, and emerging foundation models can be integrated with agronomic knowledge to support data-driven agricultural decision-making. Examples will include AI-driven climate-smart fertiliser management, precision agriculture, pest and disease detection, and plant-parasitic nematode diagnostics.