Who brought ‘Anand’ to the Indian dairy farmers? Amit Shah’s announcement of White Revolution 2.0 in September sparked excitement among village dairy farming families.
Our Indian soil has long been home to landless farmers, marginalized groups, and smallholder dairy communities. You must be aware of how Anand Cooperative Pattern fought for farmers’ welfare against the bureaucracy of private milk units.
Let’s explore how dairy cooperatives brought a new wave of transformation in India’s milk production.
Role of dairy cooperatives
- To empower milk suppliers and dairy farmers across rural communities
- To influence milk yield, food security, and margin of dairy production
- To alleviate poverty among Indian dairy farmers
- To efficiently augment the rural milk production
- To offer veterinary health care, feed, and artificial insemination services
- To provide member education in the dairy sector
Evolution of dairy cooperatives
Government intervention in dairy cooperatives
Pre-1990s era
Although the First Five-Year Plan (1951-1956) developed the ‘Key Village Scheme’, milk production remained static.
Under the Bombay Cooperative Societies Act (VII of 1925), the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) was built to support training programs of 100+ member cooperatives. However, milk production rose by barely 1% annually from 1951 to 1970.
To learn more about dairy production in rural India, read https://dollons.com/blog/how-milk-production-is-helping-in-improving-rural-india/
Post-1990s era
From 2003, the private sector firms in the dairy industry evolved to a cooperative model. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) ensures a better return for dairy cooperatives and milk producers (The Dairy Times, 2024). This led to a liberalized structure of cooperative models involving farmers, dairy partners, and production units.
Under the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) scheme [2021-2026], state cooperative dairy federations unite with district cooperative milk producers. This Component ‘A’ scheme ensures strong infrastructure for quality milk testing and chilling functions.
The Journey of Milk from Farm to Market
Legacy of Operation Flood
Operation Flood, under the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), led a vast journey of cooperative networks (Gaillard & Dervillé, 2021). Verghese Kurien, called the ‘Milkman of India’, empowered thousands of dairy farmers.
Due to Operation Flood, India dominates the dairy sector globally as the ‘highest milk-producing nation’. Similarly, the two significant areas of improvement are:
- Phase II (1981-1985): 43,000 village cooperative units with 42,50,000 milk producers
- Phase III (1985-1996): Established 30,000 dairy cooperatives
Get more information on Operation Flood from https://dollons.com/blog/india-is-yet-to-develop-as-a-major-milk-exporter/
Amul’s landmark in the milk revolution
In 1946, the Amul Cooperative pattern rose to eliminate middlemen and promote decentralized milk channels. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd operated under the brand name of ‘Amul’, has more than 18,000 dairy cooperative societies in India. In Gujarat, 11,000 village-led cooperatives are established from 12 district-level unions.
Birth of White Revolution 2.0
Is White Revolution 2.0 going to be a game-changer for the future of India’s dairy industry? Currently, 8 crore families in rural India produce milk daily. However, only 1.5 crore families are in the dairy cooperative sector, while others face exploitation with unfair pricing.
| Photo credit: Hindustan Times |
Here’s the most exciting part! Margdarshika plans to empower 200,000 dairy cooperatives and produce 100 million kg of milk/day by 2028.
Finally, dairy cooperatives helped milk become the ‘soul of India’. They reshaped the dairy-deficient nation into the highest milk-producing nation.
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Referred works
Gaillard, C., & Dervillé, M. (2021). Dairy Farming, Cooperatives and Livelihoods: Lessons Learned from Six Indian Villages. Journal of Asian Economics, 78, 101422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101422
The Dairy Times. (2024, September 18). Cooperative model for dairy sector to get a boost . The Dairy Times. https://thedairytimes.com/cooperative-model-for-dairy-sector-to-get-a-boost/
