In a move aimed at strengthening oilseed cultivation and improving farmers’ access to scientific guidance, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched ‘Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra’, a WhatsApp-based artificial intelligence-powered advisory service that provides round-the-clock, research-based support to oilseed farmers in multiple Indian languages.
Developed by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (ICAR-IIOR), Hyderabad, the service was launched by the Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR during the National Oilseeds Conference held in New Delhi on February 6, 2026.
The initiative comes as India enters the kharif sowing season with a renewed focus on increasing domestic oilseed production and reducing dependence on edible oil imports. The platform allows farmers to access crop-specific advisory services directly through WhatsApp without the need to download any additional application.
Farmers can save the number +91 4024598180 as ‘Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra’ and seek guidance in any Indian language on crops such as groundnut, mustard, sesame, sunflower, soybean, niger and other oilseeds. The AI-powered chatbot provides instant responses on a range of topics including variety selection, crop management, pest and disease control, irrigation practices and post-harvest management.
Speaking about the initiative, Dr. R. K. Mathur, Director of ICAR-IIOR, said the platform marks the first time ICAR’s collective oilseed research knowledge has been made directly accessible to farmers across the country in their preferred language through a widely used digital platform.
He said the service combines the scientific expertise of ICAR-IIOR and other partner institutes with multilingual AI technology, helping bridge long-standing barriers of distance, language and cost between research laboratories and farmers’ fields. He also encouraged oilseed growers and stakeholders to use the service during the ongoing kharif season to access scientific guidance anytime.
According to ICAR, the chatbot uses advanced AI and a comprehensive knowledge base developed from the collective expertise of multiple research institutions. It can understand and respond to queries submitted in regional languages and provide crop-specific recommendations covering the entire cultivation cycle, from seed selection and agronomic practices to pest management, irrigation scheduling, post-harvest operations and seed availability.
The knowledge base has been developed in collaboration with the ICAR-National Soybean Research Institute, Indore, ICAR-Indian Institute of Groundnut Research, Junagadh, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rapeseed and Mustard Research, Bharatpur, and the PC Unit (Sesame and Niger), ensuring extensive coverage of major oilseed crops across different agro-climatic regions of the country.
Officials said the platform is expected to strengthen the dissemination of scientific knowledge among farmers and support efforts to improve oilseed productivity and self-reliance in edible oil production.
