UCalgary grad student explains how AI is changing farming

As the population of the world increases and the climate changes, the need to adopt efficient agricultural practices becomes every more pressing. Precision agriculture is a paradigm shift that leverages advanced technologies to help farmers enhance agricultural practices.

Md Jaber Al Nahian, a Master’s student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, has been researching ways to incorporate AI into the field of precision agriculture.

Nahian has received several awards and been recognized a number of times for his research, including from the Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship, the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES) award, and the Google Cloud Compute Credit for Research.

He presented his research at the Canadian Conference on Robots and Vision (CRV), hosted at UCalgary in May, and in June he presented at the 2025 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference, in Nashville, one of the most prestigious conferences in computer vision.

Nahian has undertaken his research under the supervision of Dr. Farhad Maleki, an assistant professor on the Department of Computer Science. Nahian has also worked in Maleki’s lab, the Vision Research Lab.

Nahian sat down with UToday to discuss his research, precision agriculture, and how it can support farmers out in the field.

What is precision agriculture?

Precision agriculture is a paradigm shift utilizing advanced technologies to help farmers optimize farming practices by gathering data from sources like sensors, drones, satellites, and livestock wearables, analyzing that data with AI-driven models, and delivering site-specific recommendations for seeding, fertilization, irrigation, pest management, and animal health and nutrition. Ultimately, this approach will boost crop yields, improve herd welfare, cut input and labour costs, and minimize environmental impact.

What is your research and how does it relate to precision agriculture?

My research focuses on collecting field-imaging data from drones and transforming the data to inform farming decisions. We are creating computer vision models and decision support systems that process the data. Farmers or researchers can then use our models to estimate crop yields, detect early signs of crop diseases, and monitor large fields.

What role does AI play in supporting precision agriculture?

It plays a critical role in transforming raw sensor data into actionable items. For instance, AI modelling can automatically detect early signs of crop disease and segment wheat heads for yield estimations. In regions where we have limited agricultural experts or inconsistent field monitoring, AI models can provide scalable support tools that enhance productivity and reduce the environmental impact.

How does your research and technology support agriculture in Western Canada?

By developing our models, we are trying to bring research from the lab to the farm. Our research can help tackle real-world challenges like labour shortages and the need for sustainable resource management. AI tools can help farmers make data-informed decisions, like optimal fertilizer use, and monitor large fields despite limited skilled labour availability. The goal is to empower farmers with these technologies. Our tools are meant to support their expertise, not override it.

Why is it important to incorporate technologies such as AI into agriculture, one of humanity’s oldest practices?

The population is increasing worldwide, and the climate is changing. There are also labour shortages in agriculture across the planet. This leads to food security issues all over the world. AI helps us automate many practices. For example, in Western Canada, where vast stretches of canola and wheat fields are difficult to monitor manually, AI-powered drones and imaging systems can scan entire fields. These technologies can detect early signs of disease, assess soil health, determine precise fertilizer needs, and enable the targeted application of herbicides and pesticides, reducing both waste and environmental impact. By delivering accurate, data-driven insights, AI helps farmers make smarter decisions, optimize resources, and ultimately grow more with less.