REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
For Image Data Collection of AgriVaani Application
Closing Date for Submission
May 13, 2026, at 23:59
LEHS is a charitable organization in India whose purpose is to offer basic health and education for the poor. LEHS in furtherance of charitable objectives through its flagship programs, Wadhwani AI, which aims to build equitable and sustainable systems by making quality primary healthcare available and accessible to the underserved population, and to bring the benefits of modern AI technology to underserved populations by building and deploying AI solutions for social impact across domains such as healthcare, agriculture, governance, and education in India. LEHS aims to promote the integration of technologies, particularly in emerging domains like artificial intelligence and innovations into the Indian mainstream primary healthcare, education, and agriculture systems through a partnership with the State and National Government, apex institutions, international agencies, and private sector partners e.g. innovators, social enterprises and other ecosystem contributors in line with its stated objectives for the betterment of society particularly focusing on projects of national and social significance.
Wadhwani AI, a unit of LEHS, focuses on developing, deploying, and evaluating artificial intelligence solutions to address critical social challenges in India, particularly in domains such as healthcare, agriculture, and education.
LEHS aims to promote the integration of technologies, particularly in emerging domains like artificial intelligence and innovations into the Indian mainstream primary healthcare, education, and agriculture systems through a partnership with the State and National Government, apex institutions, international agencies, and private sector partners e.g. innovators, social enterprises and other ecosystem contributors in line with its stated objectives for the betterment of society particularly focusing on projects of national and social significance. In line with its mission to support projects of national and social significance, LEHS also undertakes rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities to assess the impact, usability, and scalability of different programmatic interventions.
Indian farmers face significant challenges due to Inadequate Extension Services. The national ratio of extension workers to operational holdings in India is 1:1162, far from the recommended ratio of 1:750. In hilly areas, the recommendation is 1:400. Fragmented Agricultural Information Systems, where data silos and limited integration limit access to timely, localised, and actionable information. Existing AI/ML tools are either proprietary, not open-source, not multilingual, or lack real-time integration. These issues contribute to poor productivity, increased economic vulnerabilities, food insecurity, and unsustainable farming practices.
Wadhwani AI is developing an Agricultural Domain-Specific Language Model (DLM) to power a multimodal, multilingual, and contextual conversational AI application for Indian smallholder farmers and Extension Workers (EWs). By integrating images as a core modality alongside language and contextual data, the system enables grounded, reliable, and scalable AI models that reflect real field conditions and continuously improve through use. The DLM will serve as the core engine for farmer assistance, piloted post expert and internal validation.
This RFP invites multiple highly qualified agencies—including Agricultural Universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), CGIAR institutes, NGOs, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and CSR foundations to participate in image data collection for pests and diseases of the identified focus crops. Through this RFP, LEHS aims to onboard multiple organizations that can collectively cover the full range of target crops and undertake systematic image data collection for prioritized pest and disease classes during 2026.
Submission Details
- All responses to this RFP must be received no later than May 13, 2026. The proposal should be submitted only through e-mail in PDF format, addressed to the Procurement Team at the following email address: rfp.lehs@wadhwaniai.org . The email's subject line must contain the reference number and title of the RFP: Proposal for –Image data collection AgriVaani – Wadhwani AI(Name of the Agency).
- Only shortlisted agencies will receive an acknowledgement and will be invited for an e-meeting to present their proposals.
- Any proposals received by Wadhwani AI after the deadline for submission of proposals prescribed in the timeline of this document are liable to be rejected.
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.