Himanshu Gupta at Davos 2024: AI for smart agriculture (with will.i.am)
World Economic Forum (Davos 2024) · 2024 · with will.i.am
On a WEF Davos 2024 panel alongside will.i.am, Himanshu Gupta lays out the squeeze on global agriculture — the 30% figure he cites for yields against a population growing 30–40% — and how ClimateAi compresses the slow, expensive trial process from years to minutes, a platform now spanning dozens of crops and millions of farmers.
What he said
What's the core problem facing agriculture?
A collision of curves. Gupta pairs the 30% figure he cites for agricultural yields with a population growing 30–40% — supply and demand pulling apart at once.
“agricultural yields globally by 30% while at the same time our population is going to increase by anywhere from 30 to 40%”Watch at 0:19
Why is adapting agriculture so slow?
The seed pipeline. Gupta points out that getting climate-resilient seeds to farmers takes 10 to 15 years — an extraordinarily long adaptation lag.
“the time it takes for them to get access to climate resilient seeds”Watch at 0:42
What does ClimateAi actually compress?
The trials. What used to take three years and half a million dollars per trial now takes minutes.
“takes three years and half a million dollar per trial now it takes minutes”Watch at 1:29
How far has the platform reached?
Globally, and at scale. Gupta says the platform now spans 60-plus crops and 70-plus countries and more than four million farmers globally.
“more than 4 million Farmers globally”Watch at 2:00
Key takeaways
- The 30% yields figure vs population growth of 30–40% — a supply/demand squeeze.
- Getting resilient seeds to farmers takes 10–15 years.
- ClimateAi compresses three-year, half-million-dollar trials to minutes.
- The platform spans 60+ crops, 70+ countries, and 4M+ farmers.