The state-backed Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB), based in the Hisar district of Haryana, has begun testing AI technology on 100 heads of buffaloes, with a plan to expand the trial to over 2,000 buffaloes by 2029. The development of AI-driven sensors for buffaloes is inspired by the need to address the challenges posed by climate change, particularly in smallholder dairy systems in India.
Data on various animal parameters, such as activity and rumination, will be collected using physical sensors fitted with accelerometers, galvanometers, or magnetometers. Rumen bolus sensors will be placed in the buffalo’s stomach using a stomach tube inserted through the mouth of a buffalo to monitor activity such as the animal’s movements, nutrient intake, physiological responses and environmental conditions.
Once sensors are in place, scientists will then use artificial intelligence to compare data between buffalo specimens of the population.
This AI-driven system shall help farmers by predicting health issues, optimising feeding, monitoring reproduction, and analysing behaviour. Real-time information fed into smartphones will serve as the IoT devices that farmers use to access real-time information and make quick, informed decisions. For instance, once they detect early signs of heat stress, farmers can move cattle into the shade and provide water.
Buffaloes are particularly vulnerable to higher temperatures due to their thick black hide that absorbs more heat. They also have fewer sweat glands than cows. A 2022 Lancet study warned that rising temperatures could cut buffalo milk production in arid regions by 25% by 2085.
The CIRB hopes to push the program to more than 4 million buffaloes in Haryana after the next five years and then extend it across the country, and even abroad. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed 150 million rupees ($1.8 million) to the project in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and Australia’s Adelaide University.
Success in these trials will lead to demonstrations and training programs for farmers and stakeholders to support the widespread adoption of this technology of AI-driven sensors for buffaloes in the coming five years.
Also Read: Elephants to buffaloes – species you didn’t think are endangered
Suhail Bhat, a multimedia journalist from Kashmir, is a Village Square Fellow 2023-24.
