Vadodara: In thousands of villages across Gujarat, dairy farmers will soon have a new helper they can turn to at any hour — ‘Sarlaben'.
Not a neighbour or a veterinary worker, but an artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant, as the state's cooperative dairy movement takes a decisive technological leap with the launch of Amul AI.
Homegrown dairy major Amul will roll out the platform on Wednesday, drawing inspiration from the Prime Minister's vision of leveraging artificial intelligence to empower women milk producers by offering 24x7 assistance on dairy farming and animal husbandry practices. The platform will be formally launched by Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel.
Amul AI is expected to cater to over 36 lakh milk producers, most of them women, spread across more than 18,500 villages in Gujarat. Together, these farmers supply over 350 lakh litres of milk every day, forming the backbone of the cooperative's operations.
The AI platform has been built on one of the country's most extensive cooperative IT ecosystems. Amul's digital backbone manages multiple databases handling over 200 crore milk procurement transactions annually, detailed records of lakhs of veterinary treatments administered by more than 1,200 doctors to nearly 3 crore cattle owned by its members, and data on around 70 lakh artificial inseminations conducted every year.
The system also incorporates fodder production data generated using ISRO satellite imagery and a farmer-wise cattle census conducted every five years across Gujarat. This vast, verified repository — built over more than five decades — forms the training base of Amul AI, enabling it to deliver accurate, farmer-specific responses.
Integrated with Amul's Automatic Milk Collection System (AMCS) and the Pashudhan application, ‘Sarlaben' will provide personalised guidance on cattle health, vaccination schedules, medical treatment, feeding and breeding practices. It will also offer information on govt schemes and subsidies relevant to dairy farmers.
"Amul AI is about taking dependable, verified information directly to the farmer — instantly and in a language they are comfortable with," said Jayen Mehta, managing director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex body of milk unions in Gujarat that markets the Amul brand. "By leveraging decades of structured data and integrating it with our operational systems, the platform will help farmers take timely decisions that improve animal productivity and income."
Farmers will be able to access Amul AI through the Amul Farmer mobile application, already downloaded by over 10 lakh users, as well as through voice calls for those using feature phones or landlines. Gujarati will be the primary language of interaction.Officials said the initiative is expected to strengthen farmer engagement at the grassroots level of Gujarat's dairy economy.
Prashant Rupera Senior Assistant Editor with The Times of India i...
Read MorePrashant Rupera Senior Assistant Editor with The Times of India in Vadodara for 22 years. He extensively covers dairy sector, co-operatives, environment, climate change, education, health, politics, aviation, railways, heritage and archaeology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s in journalism and communication. He has received awards for his campaigns and is a TOI Scribe Tribe awardee.
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