Operation flood
Operation flood launched in 1970 has been instrumental in helping the farmer mould their own development. Thus helping reach milk to consumer in 700 towns and cities through a National Milk Grid. It also helped eradicate the need for middleman thereby reducing the seasonal price variation. As a result of the cooperative structure the whole exercise of producing and distribution of milk and milk product has become economically on their own. In this manner the farmer himself can enjoy the fruit of his own labor, instead of surrendering a majority of the profit to corrupt middlemen.
Three phases of development :-
The scheme sought to establish milk producers’ cooperatives in the villages and make modern technology available to them. The broad objectives are to increase milk production ( a flood of milk ) augment rural incomes and transfer to milk producers which are hitherto enjoyed by well-to-do middleman.
Phase- 1st of operation flood was financed by the sale within India of skimmed milk powder and butter oil program. As founder chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) at India Dr. Kurien finalized the plans and negotiated the details of EEC assistance. He looked after the administration of the scheme as founder – chairman of cooperation the project authority with of operation flood. During it’s first phase, the project aimed at linking India’s 18 best milk sheds with the milk markets of the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Madras.
Phase- 2nd of the project, implemented during 1981-85 raised this to some 136 milk shed linked to over 290 urban markets. The shed capital raised from the sale of WFP/EEC gift products and world Bank loan had created by end 1985 a self sustaining system of 43,000 village cooperatives covering 4.25 million milk producers milk powder production went up from 22,000 tonnes in the per project year to 1,40,000 tonnes in 1989 thanks to dairies setup under operation flood. The EEC gifts thus helped to promote self-reliance. Direct marketing of milk by producer’s cooperatives resulting in the transfer of profits from milk contracts increased by several million liters per day.
Phase- 3rd of operation flood (1985-1996) enable dairy cooperatives to rapidly build up the basic infrastructure required to procure and market more and more milk dairy facilities were created by the cooperatives to provide better veterinary first aid health care services to their producer member.
Far Reaching Consequence :-
The year 1995-96 marked the termination of operation flood 3 funded by a World Bank loan EEC food aid and internal resources of NDDB. At the conclusion of operation flood three 72,744 DCSs in 170 milk shed of the country, having a total membership of 93.14 lakh had been organized. The target set have either been effectively achieved or exceeded. However, procurement targets could not be reached as private agencies started procuring milk from the cooperative villages following the new delicensing policy under the government’s program of economic liberalization. The condition for long-term growth in procurement have been created. An assured market and remunerate producer prices for raw milk technical input services including AI balanced cattle feed and emergency veterinary health services have cell contributed to sustained increasing in milk production. Three state of the art dairies designed to produce quality products for both the domestic and export markets have been commissioned while the demand for the milk was rising under operation flood the total cattle population remained move or less static. If milk production had to be increased the buffalo and milk breeds of cattle had to be up-graded Non-descript cows had to be crossbreed with exotic semen to increase their milk production to make them more efficient converters of feed.
With this objective in mind thrush was given to intensive reach and development in animal husbandry. Today animal breeding is an integration of three major areas, artificial insemination and quantitative genetic techniques, embryo transfer and embryo micro manipulation technique and biotechnology and genetic engineering. The optional genetic improvement can be achieved by making use of these areas.
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