National Dairy Development Board: A Successful Indian Dairy Co-operative Movement

<< Previous

"The one lesson that we can learn from the Anand experience is the power of mutual self-help."

- Amrita Patel, Chairperson, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), in January 1999.¹

White Revolution

In early 1999, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) declared India as the world's largest producer of milk. According to FAO's Global Food Outlook Report, milk production in India crossed 74 million tonnes (mts) by March 1999, while milk production in the US, the second largest producer, was 71 mts (See Exhibit I for the world's top five milk producing nations).

This was truly a moment of glory for India, which, less than four decades earlier, had been a milk-deficit country. According to analysts, India's transformation into a milk surplus country was largely due to the collective initiative undertaken by various government and semi-government bodies to promote milk production and animal husbandry. In 1970, 'Operation Flood (OF)' was launched by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), an institution constituted as a body corporate in 1965. Declared as an 'institution of national importance' by an Act of Parliament, in 1965, NDDB was established with the objective of replicating the 'Anand Model' of dairy development.

This model was first implemented in the Kheda (formerly called Kaira) district of the north-western state of Gujarat. It was built around institutions (co-operative societies) that were owned and managed by rural milk producers who wished to market their produce collectively.

The basic philosophy of the Anand Model was, 'the scientific and professional management of a vertically integrated structure which created a direct link between milk producers and ultimate consumers.' The model owed its success to the vision, foresight and leadership of Dr. Verghese Kurien (Kurien), the architect of 'Operation Flood.' The initiative was aimed at ending India's milk deficit and at using co-operatives as a catalyst to transform India into a leading milk producer. Operation Flood went on to become a successful rural development project that made dairying a core economic activity in the country. By the late 1990s, Operation Flood had over ten million farmer members from across 70,000 villages, in its co-operative network.

National Dairy Development Board: A Successful Indian Dairy Co-operative Movement - Next Page>>

---

Custom Search

---

Economics for Managers Textbook Textbooks Collection	Economics for Managers Workbook ICMR books Collection	Case Studies in Business Strategy Volume VI Case Study Volumes Collection

1] "A Successor to the Milkman of Anand," www.businessworldindia.com, January 07, 1999.