abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Realizing that something needed to be done about the unequal balance of wealth, they turned to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for advice. Sardar Patel knew that their only chance of earning a decent income was when they themselves gained control over the resources they created. He also knew that the cooperatives offered them the best chance of gaining that control. So he advised them to stop selling milk to Polson and form a cooperative of their own. In his opinion they were to own their own dairy unit. He said, "Throw out Polson and his milk contractors".
They followed his advice and the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union (AMUL) was born, in 1946. By good fortune, they could get as Chairman - Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, an equally remarkable man. He understood the concept of cooperation and he understood people. His integrity was absolute. Because the farmers of Kaira district trusted and respected Tribhuvandas Patel, the cooperative was able to pass through some very difficult times and eventually become a model of cooperative dairying throughout the world.
The Kaira Union began with a clear goal, to ensure that its producer members received the highest possible share of the consumers' rupee. This goal itself defined their direction. The focus was on production by the masses, not mass production. By the early 'sixties, the modest experiment in Kaira had not only become a success, people began to recognize it as such. Farmers came from all parts of Gujarat to learn. They went back to their own districts and started their own cooperatives. The result - Together, the district milk producers unions of Gujarat own the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets the milk and milk products manufactured by its owners. The Federation's turnover was over Rs. 1700 crore making it the largest in the food industry.
In 1964, the then Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri came to inaugurate cattle feed factory owned by Amul near Anand. Impressed by the cooperative's success, he expressed his wish to "transplant the spirit of Anand in many other places". He wanted the Anand model of dairy development replicated in other parts of the country. With institutions owned by rural producers, which were sensitive to their needs and responsive to their demands, it was an ideal tool for progress. The National Dairy Development Board was created in 1965 in response to this call.
They followed his advice and the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union (AMUL) was born, in 1946. By good fortune, they could get as Chairman - Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, an equally remarkable man. He understood the concept of cooperation and he understood people. His integrity was absolute. Because the farmers of Kaira district trusted and respected Tribhuvandas Patel, the cooperative was able to pass through some very difficult times and eventually become a model of cooperative dairying throughout the world.
The Kaira Union began with a clear goal, to ensure that its producer members received the highest possible share of the consumers' rupee. This goal itself defined their direction. The focus was on production by the masses, not mass production. By the early 'sixties, the modest experiment in Kaira had not only become a success, people began to recognize it as such. Farmers came from all parts of Gujarat to learn. They went back to their own districts and started their own cooperatives. The result - Together, the district milk producers unions of Gujarat own the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets the milk and milk products manufactured by its owners. The Federation's turnover was over Rs. 1700 crore making it the largest in the food industry.
In 1964, the then Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri came to inaugurate cattle feed factory owned by Amul near Anand. Impressed by the cooperative's success, he expressed his wish to "transplant the spirit of Anand in many other places". He wanted the Anand model of dairy development replicated in other parts of the country. With institutions owned by rural producers, which were sensitive to their needs and responsive to their demands, it was an ideal tool for progress. The National Dairy Development Board was created in 1965 in response to this call.