How 25k women farmers and AI transformed a dying land into a vital oasis | Agam Khare | TEDxBoston

Nature has already solved many of the world's trickiest problems. When we combine AI with a living library of microbial intelligence and ancestral indigenous wisdom, we unlock a planetary-scale toolkit to transform agriculture, materials, energy, and manufacturing simultaneously. In northern India, this is being demonstrated at scale in a region where land was heavily degraded, and farmers' livelihoods were collapsing. A decade ago, an experiment set out to restore this place. Mapping soil microbiomes with artificial intelligence, training 25,000 indigenous women as soil health experts, and engineering innovations to accelerate soil diagnostics from days to minutes were all elements of a holistic solution set. The transformation was profound. Soil life rebounded, species returned, 30 million more trees were planted, and farmers could once again thrive. And that was just the beginning. Once they listened to nature long enough, nature became the innovator. Agam Khare is the Founder and Group CEO of Absolute, a groundbreaking bioscience company reimagining what’s possible across Biomaterials, Healthcare, and Agriculture. Before Absolute, Agam ran India’s leading Industrial Robotics & Factory Automation company, working across sectors including Food & Beverage, Pharma, Auto, Oil & Gas, and Steel & Cement. Between 2010 and 2012, he worked closely with the 11th President of India & World-Renowned Scientist, the late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, on building moonshot innovations to solve some of the grandest global challenges facing humanity. Agam served on the First Scientific Advisory Council of the Tata Transformation Prize, run by the New York Academy of Sciences & Tata Sons, and also serves on the board of various not-for-profits in India. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx