A World Bank study has mentioned an effort by the Telangana agriculture department in providing AI-based monsoon forecasts to small farmers, who then changed their cultivation and investment decisions. Some of them recorded net savings of up to $560 per farmer, according to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence. The advance weather information holds particular significance this year, with the forecasts that the El Nino factor could negatively affect agriculture by impacting rainfall.

The farmers in Medak and Mahbubnagar districts were provided with weather information several weeks before theexpected arrival of the monsoon, according to a senior official who was involved in the effort.Some farmers reduced costs by as much as one-third when the forecast indicated favourable conditions, while othersavoided risky investments and achieved substantial savings, the report said.

The research was conducted across nearly 250 villages. Researchers found during their preliminary visits to Medak andMahbubnagar that farmers’ estimates of the monsoon’s arrival varied considerably, underlining the value of accurateadvance information, the official told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday.