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Operation Flood- A White Revolution
Introduction:
Operation flood (also known as the White revolution of India) was a rural development programme started by India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1970. One of the largest of its kind, the programme objective was to create a nationwide milk grid. It resulted in making India the largest producer of mil & milk products, and hence is also called the white revolution of India. It also helped reduce malpractices by milk traders and merchants. This revolution followed the Indian green revolution and helped in alleviating poverty and famine levels from dangerous proportions in India during the era.
Earlier, Milk was always available in plenty, but the sad truth was that the middleman was in control of marketing and siphoned away the major share of the farmer's profits. During seasons of plenty, the farmers were forced to drastically cut down their prices to sell off their surplus supplies. And during lean periods, milk production fell considerably, resulting in a shortage, unable to meet the market demand. To deal with this problem, 'Operation Flood' was launched in 1969-70 to initiate and organize cooperatives that would be wholly responsible for the procurement, storage and marketing of milk, thereby eliminating the need and role of the middleman completely. These cooperatives would also convert surplus milk into a range of dairy products so farmers were assured a regular income and fair share of profits, around the year.
'Operation Flood' heralded the beginning of the White Revolution that brought tangible profits to milk farmers and initiated a dramatic change in their lives .
Father of White Revolution: Dr. Varghese Kurien
One man’s resolute faith and efforts have gained a prominent position for India on the Dairy map of the world - Dr Varghese Kurien created the Operation Flood in the country that has reached about 250 million and is one of the largest agricultural development programs in the world. Dr. Varghese Kurien, better known as the “Father of White Revolution” in India is also known as the Milk man of India. He is the architect of a successful largest dairy development program in the world called as Operation Flood. Kurien set up the Anand model of cooperative development, engineered the white revolution in India, and made India the largest milk producer in the world. He was born on November 26, 1921 in Kozhikode, Kerala. He graduated in Physics from Loyola College, Madras in 1940 and then did B.E. (Mech) from the University of Madras. After completing his degree, he joined the Tata Steel Technical Institute, Jamshedpur from where he graduated in 1946. During this period he underwent nine months of specialized training in dairy engineering at the National Dairy Research Institute of Bangalore. He then went to USA on a government scholarship to earn his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University. He returned from America in 1948 and joined the Dairy Department of the Government of India. In May 1949, he was posted as Dairy Engineer at the Government Research Creamery, a small milk powder factory, in Anand, Gujarat. At that time, private dairies, middlemen, inefficient collection and distribution systems resulted in milk of varying quality being erratically available across the country, often at higher prices to consumers but with little profits to producers. During the same time, the newly formed cooperative dairy, Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producer’s Union Limited
KDCMPUL) was engaged in battle of survival with the privately owned Polson Dairy. Driven by the challenge, Kurien left his government job and volunteered to help Sri Tribhuvandas Patel, the Chairman of KDCMPUL, to build an in-house processing plant and organize the cooperative (Anand Milk Union Limited – AMUL) to handle its own marketing directly to consumers. After years of initial struggle, the cooperative began to produce dramatic results, involving over two million farmers. Based on its successes, Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri created the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965 to replicate the AMUL model nationally. The Prime Minister cited Dr. Kurien's "extraordinary and dynamic leadership" upon naming him chairman. In 1973, Dr. Kurien set up GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) to market the products produced by the dairies. Reaching nearly 250 million people, Operation Flood is one of the largest agricultural development programs in the world. India has also emerged as the largest producer of milk in the world, surpassing the United States and today the milk economy is worth 2,00,000 crore. The country’s dairy supply continues to grow 3.8 percent annually, while population only grows 2 percent, thus increasing the per capita availability of dietary proteins, especially in areas identified as suffering from nutritional deficits. Domestic milk prices have stabilized, India's towns and cities receive an adequate supply of hygienic milk, and the 12 million small farmers and landless laborers who make up the majority of dairy cooperative membership now have a regular source of income. In addition, 95% of the equipment used in NDDB cooperatives is domestically produced.
Despite these achievements, perhaps Dr. Kurien’s greatest contribution with Operation Flood was to put the farmer in command as the owner of her/his own cooperative – a pivotal factor in the program’s success. During his illustrious career, Dr. Varghese Kurien, currently the Chancellor of Allahabad University won many accolades and awards. These include: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), Wateler Peace Prize Award of Carnegie Foundation (1986), World Food Prize Laureate (1989), International Person of the Year (1993) by the World Dairy Expo, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Padma Vibhushan (1999).
Operation Flood:
Operation Flood has helped farmers, direct their own development, placing control of the resources they create in their own hands. A 'National Milk Grid', links milk producers throughout India with consumers in over 700 towns and cities, reducing seasonal and regional price variations while ensuring that the producer gets a major share of the price consumers pay.
The bedrock of Operation Flood has been village milk producers' cooperatives, which procure milk and provide inputs and services, making modern management and technology available to members. Operation Flood's objectives included:
- Increase milk production ("a flood of milk")
- Augment rural incomes
- Fair prices for consumers
Programme Implementation:
Operation Flood was implemented in three phases.
Phase I
Phase I (1970–1980) was financed by the sale of skimmed milk powder and butter oil donated by the European Union (then the European Economic Community) through the World Food Programme. NDDB planned the programme and negotiated the details of EEC assistance.
During its first phase, Operation Flood linked 18 of India's premier milk sheds with consumers in India's major metropolitan cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai; thus establishing mother dairies in four metros.
Operation flood, also referred to as “White Revolution” was a gigantic project propounded by Government of India for developing dairy industry in the country. The Operation Flood – 1 originally meant to be completed in 1975, actually the period of about nine years from 1970-79, at a total cost of Rs.116 corers.
As start of operation Flood-1 in 1970 certain set of aims were kept in view for the implementation of the programmers. Improvement by milk marketing was made by organizing dairy sector in the metropolitan cities including Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Delhi. The objectives of commanding share of milk market and speed up development of dairy animals respectively hinter lands of rural areas with a view to increase both production and procurement.
Phase II
Operation Flood Phase II (1981–1985) increased the milk sheds from 18 to 136; 290 urban markets expanded the outlets for milk. By the end of 1985, a self-sustaining system of 43,000 village cooperatives with 42.5 lakh milk producers were covered. Domestic milk powder production increased from 22,000 tons in the pre-project year to 1, 40,000 tons by 1989, all of the increase coming from dairies set up under Operation Flood. In this way EEC gifts and World Bank loan helped promote self-reliance. Direct marketing of milk by producers' cooperatives increased by several million liters a day.
Phase III
Phase III (1985–1996) enabled dairy cooperatives to expand and strengthen the infrastructure required to procure and market increasing volumes of milk. Veterinary first-aid health care services, feed and artificial insemination services for cooperative members were extended, along with intensified member education.
Operation Flood's Phase III consolidated India's dairy cooperative movement, adding 30,000 new dairy cooperatives to the 42,000 existing societies organized during Phase II. Milk sheds peaked to 173 in 1988-89 with the numbers of women members and Women's Dairy Cooperative Societies increasing significantly.
Phase III gave increased emphasis to research and development in animal health and animal nutrition. Innovations like vaccine for Theileriosis, bypassing protein feed and urea-molasses mineral blocks, all contributed to the enhanced productivity of milk animals.
Effects of the White Revolution:
The white revolution gave a major boost to the dairy sector in India in the late 1960s by producing milk in rural areas through smallholder producer cooperatives and moving industrially- processed milk from these small holder sources to the urban demand centers, thus, establishing a much needed linkage between the rural producers and urban consumers. The United Nations has commended India's "White Revolution," saying a sharp increase in the production of milk has achieved twin goals of raising incomes of rural poor families and nutrition status of the people.
India's milk production rose from around 30 million tonnes in 1980 to an estimated 87 million tonnes by 2003 and despite increasing population, availability per person rose from less than 50 kilo calories per day in 1980 to 80 kilo calories per day in 2000, a report on hunger by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. The report forecasts that India's dairy production will triple by 2020.
"With government policies that facilitate rural credit and provide essential support services to promote milk production, the White Revolution will continue to play a significant role in reducing poverty and hunger."
FAO estimates that increasing milk production has boosted the incomes of 80 to 100 million families, the vast majority of whom are marginal or small farmers whose plots are often too small to support their families and landless laborers who depend on common grazing lands and forests for fodder.
Matching demand and supply:
The white revolution carried on the extensive dairy development programs on the supply side, and this coupled with the increasing demand for value added milk products on the consumer side along with the country’s population growth, increased urbanization and higher income, led to increased demand for milk. The various other factors contributing to the growth in milk production are given below:
- In the India diet, milk and milk products play a significant role.
- With a large lacto- vegetarian population, milk and dairy products are an important source of protein in diet.
- There is a perceptible shift towards the value- added food habits in which milk products form a large part.
- On the supply side, technological progress in the production and processing sectors, institutional factors and infrastructure played an important role.
Protection to Milk industry:
After the White revolution, smaller enterprises and cooperatives, with whom, milk processing and product manufacturing were mainly restricted, were given protection by means of high import duties, non- tariff barriers, restrictions on import and export and stringent licensing provisions. This also provided supplementary employment and income among the small and marginal farming households and landless wage earners.
Before the White revolution started, the farmer’s income was derived almost entirely from seasonal crops. The income from milch buffaloes was undependable. Only private traders and middlemen gained as the marketing and distribution system was controlled by them. But currently, the scheme has ensured average returns of rs 1600 to rs 1700 per month, with the beneficiaries being mostly women. The Amul project seeks to bring poor households into the mainstream economy by transforming dairying into active income generating enterprises. As many as 7500 below poverty line beneficiaries were targeted. The number has already been surpassed, and the project has already covered over 8000 beneficiaries.
All aspects of dairying have been exhaustively covered under the programme, in which innovations and modern technologies have been put to the best use for the rural population.
White Revolution and Gender Revolution:
The White revolution did not only affect the Indian Economy but the Indian social scenario as well. Traditionally, India’s dairy cooperative societies were run by men, but with time, this has gradually changed. Today, about 18% of cooperative members are women and nearly 2all- women cooperatives are functioning in the country. Over 1000 women in Gujarat’s Sundarnagar district have proved that modern technologies can ameliorate the worries of poor rural women. Gujarat in fact, spearheaded the ‘Operation Flood’ movement in the 1970s, which sought to maximize milk production and profits through scientific techniques and attempted to free milk producers from the tyranny of the middlemen. Today, several NGOs are working to change this scenario to be more inclusive of women. The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Ahmadabad, Gujarat was the first one to start the concept of all- women dairy cooperatives in Banaskantha district.
Initially, women were hesitant about depositing milk with the dairy. But through intensive training sessions, they began to see the benefits of associating with the dairy. On an average, a woman is able to deposit one to two litres of milk per day. The women associated with the dairy say that it is not the higher price they get for their milk that makes them keep coming back. There are other benefits, like bonus, payment every 10 days, information about fodder, mineral mixture and cattle health training. Bank accounts and transactions, as well as the day- to- day functioning of the cooperatives are operated entirely by women.
The women of these villages have developed an unshakeable faith in the machines. They are especially pleased with the measurement of fat content in milk. This helps them fix the price of the milk depending on its fat content, instead of the flat rate that the middlepersons gave them. They have also learnt techniques to ensure better health for their cattle, through de- worming and mineral mixture. This, in turn, leads to increased fat content in milk. Further, artificial insemination - which the women can afford because of the profits that the cooperatives earn - results in a better breed of cattle.
From the above, we reach the conclusion that the White revolution has had a tremendous impact on the economic as well as the social life of the rural sector of India and has helped in the development of rural sector an established a linkage between the rural and the urban sector of India.
Success of White Revolution:
As we discussed earlier, white revolution gave a major boost to the dairy sector in India in the late 1960s by producing milk in rural areas through smallholder producer cooperatives and moving industrially- processed milk from these small holder sources to the urban demand centers, thus, establishing a much needed linkage between the rural producers and urban consumers. The White Revolution started in Gujarat and with its success over the years, other states have started implementing the concept of the White Revolution with a view to simultaneously improve and develop the economic and social parts of their rural sectors and linking them with their urban sectors.
Emulating the concept of Amul, Uttarakhand is preparing to bring in the white revolution through a new 10- point programme prepared by the agricultural minister, Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat. The first target of the government is to add 200 dairies with an addition of 40,000 liters of milk in order to make the hill state surplus. Under this programme, the government has tied up with the Bank of Baroda to provide easy loans for buying cows and buffaloes and set up dairies. Once these dairies have been setup, the government will start buying milk and produce various dairy products through value- addition.
The state of Punjab is ushering a second white revolution by adopting modern dairy technology which is seen as a variable and profitable alternative. With the aim of providing the latest information about commercial dairy farming, the Punjab government has also started a new dairy technology course at five of its old centers and three new centers. The state dairy development department also provides new techniques, better sheds, cattle breed and artificial insemination to the milk producers to increase milk production in the state. Financial help at very low rate of interest is being provided to candidates who successfully undertake training.
Punjab is the second largest milk producing state in India, producing eight million tonnes annually, which is around 10% of the country’s milk production.
Second White Revolution:
After starting a White Revolution in the country and changing the way India consumes milk and its products, Amul is ready to start a second revolution. The cooperative milk giant is looking to double its milk production capacity by 2020. Years ago, the unique cooperative movement transformed India from an imports-dependent country to a self-sufficient one. Now, the demand for milk has increased with people's purchasing power going up and Amul is hoping to meet this demand with its capacity expansion.
GCMMF, which markets all Amul products, expects its sales to shoot up to Rs 27,000 crore in 2020 from an estimated Rs 6,700 crore in 2008-09. To achieve the 2020 target, Amul will increase the capacities of the existing 30 dairy plants and add some new ones.
Criticisms:
Some critics of the project argue that the emphasis on foreign cow breeds has been instrumental in the decimation of Indian breeds. Foreign breeds give higher yields, but require more feed and are not suited to Indian conditions. Critics also argue that the focus on the dairy sector during this period came at the expense of development, research, and extension work in other areas of Indian agriculture. There is also the criticism that the product from the White Revolution, namely milk and dairy products (like food grains from the harvests using Green Revolution methods and practices) is qualitatively, not exactly 'technically', inferior to the product obtained employing traditional methods and practices geared to smaller population levels which had only to be 'scaled up' for larger populations.
Moreover, the developed countries’ heavy subsidies on dairy products pose an obstruction to the Indian Dairy growth. The distortion of global dairy prices due to heavy subsidies by the European Union and the U.S.A, besides other developed countries, has rendered Indian Dairy products non- competitive in the international market. There has been a consistent rise in India’s share in world milk production — from 9.9 per cent in 1990 to 12.3 per cent in 1996 and further to 14.5 per cent in 2003. India is now the world’s largest milk producer. However, the opening up of the Indian market to foreign goods has raised much concern about the status of the Indian dairy industry in the post-WTO era.
Conclusion:
In the end, we may conclude by saying that though every concept has its loopholes and drawbacks, the concept of the White Revolution is relatively much more beneficial. 60 years ago when the concept of White Revolution first came into existence, prior to that, the Indian dairy sector had a very low productivity rate. But after this concept was introduced, it brought about a revolution in the dairy sector. The productivity rate increased and it opened new employment avenues for the rural sector. It further contributed to the empowerment of women. It helped in removing the middlemen, thus, establishing a link between the rural and the urban sector. It came as a relief to the landless farmers and farmers with smaller lands which were inadequate for farming.
Thus, it may be said that the white revolution has contributed a lot to the Indian economy and more of such innovative ideas must be brought in light so as to ensure the quick development of the rural and the urban sector and furthermore, of the country as a whole.
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