‘Agricultural Students’ Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) potential to revolutionize agricultural practices, from precision farming to decision-making, is increasingly recognized by students. Understanding their views is essential for fostering AI adoption and innovation in the agricultural sector. The research was conducted among 100 agricultural students from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, using a proportionate random sampling method. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on students' perceived usefulness of AI, ease of use, its impact on learning, emotional responses and attitudes towards AI in agriculture and challenges faced by the agricultural students. Mean score and percentage analysis were used to analyse the collected data. The results show that AI improves decision-making processes in farm management (4.52), AI is easy to use for agricultural studies (4.42), AI tools make learning more interactive and engaging in agricultural education (4.54), the idea of using AI in agriculture makes me feel excited (3.73) and students believe AI technologies will play a significant role in the future of agriculture (3.96).  About 85 per cent of students had technical limitations, such as insufficient access to equipment and software. Furthermore, the integration of AI with traditional agricultural practices was found to be difficult for 81 per cent of the respondents. The study concludes that while agricultural students are eager to embrace AI in their future careers, significant improvements in infrastructure, training, and support are needed to fully realize AI’s potential in the agricultural sector. These findings offer valuable insights for educators seeking to foster AI-driven innovation in agriculture.