Amul, one of the world’s largest farmer-owned dairy cooperatives, has launched an artificial intelligence-powered assistant aimed at strengthening on-ground support for 3.6 million milk producers across India.

The AI tool, named Sarlaben, was introduced Wednesday, Feb. 11, at an event in Anand, where it was unveiled by Bhupendra Patel. Designed to integrate with Amul’s digital infrastructure, the assistant will provide personalized guidance on cattle health, vaccination schedules, feeding practices, breeding management and available government subsidies.

Sarlaben connects with Amul’s Automatic Milk Collection System and its Pashudhan livestock management platform, allowing it to draw on one of the largest dairy databases globally.

“This artificial intelligence system is backed by the entire database of Amul that covers 3.6 million farmers — who supply milk twice daily and account for ₹2 billion worth of transactions daily,” said Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets Amul products.

“The database also contains details of cattle and treatment provided by a network of 1,500 veterinary doctors,” Mehta added.

Powered by deep dairy data

Amul’s digital backbone processes more than 2 billion milk procurement transactions each year. The system maintains records of veterinary treatments delivered by over 1,200 doctors to nearly 30 million cattle owned by member farmers. It also tracks roughly 7 million artificial inseminations annually, fodder production data supported by ISRO satellite imagery and detailed cattle census records collected across Gujarat every five years.

The AI assistant was developed in partnership with EkStep Foundation. Shankar Maruwada, co-founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, said the platform is designed to provide contextual, individualized responses using farmer- and cattle-level data.

Broad access across devices

Farmers can access Sarlaben through the Amul Farmer Mobile Application, available on Android and iOS, which has already been downloaded by more than one million users. To extend reach beyond smartphone users, the assistant can also be accessed via phone call, allowing those with feature phones or landlines to receive tailored information.

While Gujarati will be the primary language of interaction, the platform will also be available to farmers outside Amul’s cooperative network for general guidance related to dairying and animal husbandry.

With the launch of Sarlaben, Amul is embedding AI directly into its cooperative ecosystem, positioning data-driven advisory services at the core of India’s dairy supply chain.