Nidhi Bhasin Leads Digital Green Revolution, Empowering Millions of Farmers with AI 

Nidhi Bhasin Leads Digital Green Revolution, Empowering Millions of Farmers with AI 

A New Vision for Agricultural Transformation 

In September 2024, Nidhi Bhasin assumed leadership of Digital Green Trust (DGT), bringing over 25 years of social development experience to an organization that has served 4.7 million Indian farmers over 17 years. Her appointment comes at a critical juncture for Indian agriculture, with smallholder farmers facing unprecedented challenges from climate change, fragmented landholdings, and limited access to traditional extension services. 

Under Bhasin’s leadership, Digital Green Trust leverages digital technology to revolutionize agricultural extension services, with their flagship AI-powered assistant Farmer.Chat standing at the forefront of this transformation. This initiative represents a fundamental shift in how agricultural knowledge is disseminated, moving from traditional face-to-face contact limited by geography and resources to accessible, personalized digital solutions that empower farmers to make smarter decisions faster. 

The Woman Steering the Digital Green Revolution 

Nidhi Bhasin’s professional journey reflects a consistent commitment to leveraging technology for social good. Before joining Digital Green Trust, she served as CEO of Nasscom Foundation, where she championed technology-driven initiatives to bridge the digital divide in underserved communities across India. Prior to that, she spent two decades with Concern India Foundation, leading initiatives in education, health, and community development, with particular focus on women’s empowerment. 

This unique blend of technological expertise and grassroots development experience positions Bhasin ideally to lead Digital Green Trust’s ambitious mission. As she stated upon her appointment: “I am excited to continue building on the solid foundational work done by Digital Green Trust, as we work to scale our impact, in numbers and depth“. 

Bhasin leads a team of more than 80 employees based in New Delhi, focused on transforming agricultural practices to improve livelihoods at scale. Her leadership priorities include advancing regenerative farming practices, improving gender equity by empowering women farmers, and applying climate-smart agricultural techniques that enhance resilience against environmental shocks. 

Tejesh Shah, Chairperson of the Digital Green Trust Board, notes that “In Nidhi Bhasin, we see a leader whose dedication to social good, paired with her deep expertise in technology, perfectly aligns with our mission. Her insights and energy will be instrumental in advancing Digital Green Trust’s efforts to revolutionize agricultural practices for the betterment of farmers and their communities”. 

Farmer.Chat: The AI-Powered Agricultural Companion 

At the heart of Digital Green Trust’s technological innovation lies Farmer.Chat, a conversational AI assistant designed specifically for smallholder farmers. This platform represents a significant leap in agricultural extension services, reaching over 565,000 users across Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, India, and Brazil who have asked more than 5 million queries to date. 

Accessible Technology for Diverse Users 

Farmer.Chat stands out for its user-centric design, breaking down barriers that typically limit technology adoption among rural farming communities: 

• Multimodal Interactions: Farmers can ask questions using text, voice notes, or photos, receiving responses in various formats that suit their preferences and literacy levels 

• Local Language Support: The platform converses in farmers’ local languages, currently available in English, Hindi, Telugu, Swahili, and Amharic, with more languages planned 

• Image Diagnosis Capability: Farmers can upload photos for AI-powered diagnosis of crop issues and receive immediate advice 

• Multiple Access Points: Accessible through WhatsApp, Telegram, or a dedicated web platform, making it available on the platforms farmers already use 

Technical Architecture and Partnerships 

Farmer.Chat is built on sophisticated technical infrastructure that combines GPT-4 technology with a comprehensive knowledge base. The platform integrates Microsoft Azure OpenAI and vector databases, speech recognition from Bhashini.in, and the ease of use of Google Docs to create a simple conversational bot. 

The system draws from an extensive library of agricultural content, including editable documents, thousands of best practice videos, agriculture call center transcripts, and other vetted data sources to deliver real-time, actionable recommendations. This allows farmers to receive personalized guidance on planting, irrigation, fertilization, pest control, and more based on their specific crops, location, and contextual factors. 

Building Bridges: The Partnership Ecosystem 

Digital Green Trust’s impact extends beyond its immediate team through strategic collaborations that amplify its reach and effectiveness. The organization works closely with approximately 12 state governments in India, tailoring scalable interventions that emphasize sustainability, gender inclusion, and climate resilience. 

Strategic Collaborations Enhancing Impact 

Table: Key Partnerships Extending Farmer.Chat’s Capabilities 

Rikin Gandhi, CEO of Digital Green, emphasized the collaborative philosophy: “The best source of information for farmers is other farmers. Leveraging generative AI technology alongside our years of experience in creating accessible agricultural advisory content for millions of small-scale farmers across India, Ethiopia, Kenya—and beyond—has the potential to be life-changing for the productivity of not just millions of farmers, but hundreds of millions”. 

Measuring Impact: From Data to Tangible Results 

The effectiveness of Digital Green Trust’s approach is reflected in both quantitative metrics and qualitative transformations within farming communities. 

Quantitative Evidence of Success 

Table: Digital Green Trust’s Documented Impact 

Regional Success Stories 

The platform’s impact is particularly evident in specific regions where it has been deployed. In Bihar, one of India’s poorest states with a 34% multidimensional poverty rate, Digital Green Trust registered a gain of over 100,000 active users between December 2024 and March 2025 alone. This rapid adoption in a challenging agricultural environment demonstrates the platform’s relevance and effectiveness. 

Beyond India, Farmer.Chat has expanded to 12,000 extension agents across India, Kenya, and Nigeria, serving 500,000 farmers through these intermediaries. This scale demonstrates the versatility and adaptability of the platform across different agricultural contexts and regions. 

The Road Ahead: Scaling for Greater Impact 

Under Nidhi Bhasin’s leadership, Digital Green Trust is positioned to expand its impact significantly. Her vision encompasses not only increasing user numbers but deepening the quality and scope of services provided to farming communities. 

Strategic Expansion Priorities 

Bhasin has emphasized Digital Green Trust’s unique position to “enable the agriculture ecosystem by bringing Government, philanthropies and corporates together at the intersection of technology, gender, climate and sustainability”. This integrated approach recognizes that sustainable agricultural transformation requires addressing multiple interconnected challenges simultaneously. 

Key focus areas for expansion include: 

• Gender Equity: Specifically empowering women farmers who constitute 43% of Digital Green’s total reach of 8.2 million farmers 

• Climate Resilience: Integrating more advanced climate adaptation strategies into the advisory services 

• Regenerative Agriculture: Promoting practices that restore and enhance natural ecosystems, supported by organizations like The Rockefeller Foundation 

• Content Co-creation: Enabling farmers to contribute their own content to the network, enhancing relevance and local specificity 

A Model for the Future of Agriculture 

Digital Green Trust, under Nidhi Bhasin’s leadership, represents a transformative model for agricultural development in the 21st century—one that combines cutting-edge technology with deep community engagement. By starting with the needs of smallholder farmers and designing solutions that are accessible, contextual, and responsive, the organization has created a platform that genuinely serves those often left behind by technological innovation. 

The success of Farmer.Chat demonstrates that when technology is grounded in empathy and inclusivity, it can become a powerful catalyst for social transformation. As Bhasin herself noted, she looks forward to “driving thought leadership initiatives that can transform and create real impact on livelihoods in rural communities“. 

This approach offers a replicable model for other development challenges, showing how technology can be harnessed to bridge divides rather than widen them. As Digital Green Trust continues to scale under Bhasin’s leadership, it provides not just practical agricultural solutions but a vision of how technology can be directed toward genuinely sustainable and inclusive development.