The Vital Role of Small and Marginal Farmer in Future of Our Climate: Democratization of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Dairy Cow Necklace Sensors in Achieving the UN Climate Change Goals (COP21) and the Paris Agreement

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Title

Communications in Computer and Information Science

Volume

2260

DOI

10.1007/978-3-031-85923-6_15

First Page

188

Last Page

204

Abstract

Small and marginal dairy farmers are a crucial part of the global farming community, and there are approximately 570 million farms worldwide, with the majority being small farms, as per the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) estimates that there are around 133 million dairy farms globally. Despite being a significant source of income for small dairy farmers, they often face challenges regarding cattle productivity and health issues. Interestingly, cattle rumination counts could be the solution to these issues, not only for small farmers but also for the world at large. Cattle rumination count is a measure of how much time cows spend chewing cud, which is a mixture of partially digested food regurgitated from the cow’s stomach to the mouth and further broken down by chewing before being swallowed again. Rumination count is a critical indicator of a cow’s health and productivity since cows that chew more tend to have better digestion, absorb more nutrients from their feed, and produce more milk. Cattle rumination count is also related to methane emissions, as cows release methane gas during the digestive process, especially during rumination. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. By using Dairy IoT Cattle Cow Necklace sensors, small and marginal farmers worldwide can track rumination counts proactively. The Dairy Cow Necklace sensor records the time spent chewing cud, and this data can be used by small farmers and veterinarians to identify cows experiencing digestive issues or other health problems and adjust their feeding and management practices accordingly. Reducing methane emissions from dairy cattle is a vital part of global efforts to mitigate climate change since livestock, including dairy cattle, contributes to around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In a recent study, rumination counts were captured from three major dairy producing areas in India (Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, and Kashmir) between 2019 and 2024. The study demonstrated that improving dairy cattle health by reducing methane emissions is economically and sustainably advantageous to small farmers, rural economies, and the global climate overall.

Keywords

COP21, Cow Necklace Sensor, Methan emissions, Rumination

Department

Computer Engineering

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