Action at amul

Visit of Mr. Savenaca Seniloli, CEO, Rewa Dairy Coop., Fiji

Mr. Savenaca Seniloli, CEO, Rewa Dairy Cooperative Dairy Co. Ltd., Samabula and Ms. Katarina Lala, Investment Promotion Officer, Fiji Islands Trade & Investment Bureau. Fiji were keen to understand the cooperative dairy scenario in India. As part of their trade and investment mission, they visited Amul Dairy and GCMMF on November 24, 2006. In a frank and free discussion with Shri B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, GCMMF, they dwelt on the problems of the dairy industry in Fiji.

After the visit, Mr. Seniloli said “We definitely learned a lot from our brief stay and would have loved to stay a bit longer and look forward to a stronger collaboration”.

Visit of Dr. Michael Cook, Expert on Cooperatives

Dr. Michael Cook, Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA visited Amul Dairy and GCMMF on November 17, 2006. A world renowned expert on dairy cooperatives, he was appreciative of the efforts made by the dairy cooperatives in Gujarat.

At GCMMF he interacted freely with Shri B. M. Vyas, Managing Director and other officials. He was highly appreciative of the different products developed and marketed by GCMMF.

Visit of Delegation from Peoples Republic of China

A high level delegation from the Peoples Republic of China visited Anand on Thursday, November 16, 2006. The delegation was headed by Dr. Jiang Hesheng, Dy. Director General, Science & Technology Dept., Guangxi Autonomous Region and comprised Mr. Qui Sijie, Associate Consultant, Agricultural Science Division; Science & Technology Dept., Guangxi Autonomous Region; Mr. Wei Yingming, Professor, Guangxi University; Mr. Li Shuyou, Dy. Director, Beihai Municipal Bureau of Science & Technology; Mr. Li Quanfu, Director, Science & Technology Bureau of Tianyang County and Mr. Xie Bingqiang, Dy. General Manger, Guangxi Huangshi Bio-engineering Dairy Co. Ltd.

The objective of the delegation in visiting Anand was to learn and understand the Amul model. They were especially interested in comprehending the relationship between the farmer and the consumer. After the visit to Amul Dairy, they held discussions with Shri R. S. Sodhi, Chief General Manager, GCMMF dwelling on possible avenues of cooperation.

Amul Shakti Vidyashree Award

Amul has instituted ‘Amul Shakti Vidyashree Award’, India's first of its kind award for academic excellence, for the Class 10 school toppers in the State/ Central Board Examinations. The Objective of this award is to initiate and institutionalise an award in order to recognise the academic effort of Std. X students.

GCMMF’s Cuttack Depot has organized the Amul Shakti Vidyasree award distribution in a grand way in a glittering function on 10.11.2006. His excellency Governor of Orissa, Hon’ble Rameswar Thakur presented the Amul Shakti Vidyashree Award to the awardees during the function organized under the aegis of 4th State level inter-school talent search programme –2006, in collaboration with M/S. NIRMAN - a voluntary organization & G C M M F Ltd, Cuttack Depot.

The Governor expressed his pleasure and appreciated the initiative taken by Amul. He had also expressed that this kind of award for the young talents by AMUL shall definitely lead to development of society and boost the morale of the students.

Visit of Mr. Michael A. Jackson, CEO/President, ABG

Mr. Michael A. Jackson, CEO/President, ABG along with Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Kshitij Shrivastav, Manager, ABG, visited Amul Dairy and GCMMF on November 04, 2006, and interacted with Shri B. M. Vyas, Managing Director and Shri R. S. Sodhi, Chief General Manager, GCMMF.

They appreciated the high level of professionalism and dedication. The wide array of products marketed by GCMMF left them impressed.

Visit of Ms. Julie Borlaug

Ms. Julie Borlaug, (granddaughter of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug), Associate Manager for Donor Relations, Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas, USA and her colleague Mr. Keith Cole, visited Anand between November 01 and November 04, 2006.

During their stay, they visited Amul Dairy, a Village Dairy Co-operative Society and GCMMF among other places. They interacted with the Chairman, Shri Parthibhai G. Bhatol and the Managing Director, Shri B. M. Vyas on November 02, 2006.

They were impressed with GCMMF’s involvement in helping the milk producers of rural India. Ms. Borlaug said “It is both an honour and a wonderful experience to see first hand the important contribution Amul has made in the betterment of the rural farmers’ life.”

20th Hoshin Kanri Meeting At Anand

GCMMF conducted its 20th Corporate Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment) meeting at Anand from 21st to 23rd September, 2006. Managing Director, Chief General Manager, General Managers, Depot-in-Charges, Zonal Managers, Departmental Heads, Product Officers, Member Union MDs, Ad Agency, etc. participated in the above meeting. GCMMF at corporate level conducts this kind of meeting twice a year - one in February and another in September. The meeting is conducted in LSIP (Large Scale Interactive Process) manner. During the meeting the group reviewed the Hoshins taken during the February 06 Hoshin Kanri meeting and took additional Hoshins as per the direction set by MD for the remaining six months.

Visit of FVO Mission, EU.

Dr. John McEvoy and Mr. Joachim Polzer from FVO Mission accompanied by Ms. Shashi Sareen, Director, Export Council of India and other officials from EIC, APEDA and Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, visited Anand on September 15, 2006.

They visited a Village Dairy Co-op. Society, Amul Dairy Plant, Mother Dairy, Gandhinagar and GCMMF. They held in depth discussions with Shri B. M. Vyas, MD, GCMMF, Dr. S. K. Bhalla, General Manager (Quality Assurance) and other senior officials.

They found the three-tier Amul model interesting and impressive.

Visit of President-International Operations, Hershey Co.

Mr. J.P. Bilbrey, President-International Operations and Mr. Ted Jastrzebski, CFO of the International Division of the Hershey Company, USA visited Anand on September 12, 2006. After a tour of Mother Dairy, Gandhinagar, Amul Dairy, Chocolate Factory and IRMA, they came to GCMMF. They held wide ranging discussions with Shri Parthibhai G. Bhatol, Chairman, GCMMF; Shri Ramsinh Parmar, Chairman, Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd. (KDCMPU); Shri B. M. Vyas, MD, GCMMF; Shri Rahul Kumar, MD, KDCMPU and other senior officials of GCMMF and KDCMPU.

The visit left them highly impressed.

Visit of Delegation from Eritrea

As a follow up to the Ministerial level delegation from Eritrea who visited us in June 2006, a high level technical team comprising Dr. Ghebrehiwet Teame, Director of Technical Services and Mr. Amanuel Negassi, Director of Agricultural Services, Govt. of Eritrea, visited us on August 23, 2006.

They were keen to explore the possibility of implementing Amul Model in Eritrea in terms of collection and processing milk. The visit and interaction left them highly impressed.

Visit of Board of Directors of Sikkim Dairy

Shri Jeevan Gurung, Shri P N Chettri and Shri Kedar Jang Basnet, Members of Sikkim Dairy Board of Directors, held wide-ranging discussions with Shri B. M. Vyas, MD, GCMMF and Shri Rahul Kumar, MD, Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd. during their visit to Anand and Gandhinagar between August 17 and 20, 2006. The democratic functioning of the co-operatives in Gujarat wherein the farmers are in control of procurement, processing and marketing fascinated them. They also visited Mother Dairy, Gandhinagar, Amul Dairy, Amul Research & Development Association (ARDA), Cattle Feed Factory, Cheese Plant, a Village Dairy Co-op. Society, Sardar Patel Museum and Akshardham. They felt that their visit was a fruitful one, and was overwhelmed by the hospitality extended to them.

Visit of CFO, Hershey Co., USA.

Mr. Ted Jastrzebski, CFO, the International Division of the Hershey Company, USA visited Anand on August 05, 2006. Hershey is the largest confectionary company in North America, and has a wide variety of products.

Mr. Jastrzebski felt that the accomplishments of Amul provide an impressive story of cooperation in the lives of farmers. He was glad that he had visited us and said “Thank you so much for allowing us the chance to learn this history.”

National Seminar on "Emerging Trends in Packaging of Milk & Milk Products"

The GCMMF Ltd., Anand & Indian Dairy Association, Gujarat Chapter held a two day National Seminar on “Emerging Trends in Packaging of Milk & Milk Products” at Hotel Grand Bhagwati, Ahmedabad on 26th & 27th May, 2006. The seminar’s aim was to focus on the present scenario for packaging of milk & milk products like Curd, Paneer etc. and the future development in various raw materials like Poly granules, extrusion m/c, printing Ink, cylinder etc.

Shri B M Vyas (MD, GCMMF Ltd., Anand) was the Chief Guest at the seminar while Dr. Sushil Kumar (Director, NDRI, Karnal) & Shri Rajiv Dhar (Director, IIP Mumbai) were the Guests of Honour. Shri P R Patel (Chairman, IDA, Gujarat Chapter) also remained present at the inaugural session of the seminar.

About 250 delegates from all over the country including top-level management personnel of various dairy plants, educationists, consultants and other dignitaries, attended this program.

The plenary session of the seminar was chaired by Shri R S Sodhi (CGM, GCMMF) & Shri P R Patel.

Visit of Professors from Ethiopia

Dr. Kefelegn Kebede, Vice-Dean for Research and Post-graduate programme and Prof. Teshome Begasha, Mekelle University, Ethiopia visited Anand to study the Amul model of cooperative dairy development. During their stay they met Shri Parthibhai G. Bhatol, Chairman and Shri B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, GCMMF.

They also visited Amul Dairy and Museum, the Cattlefeed Plant at Kanjari, Vidya Dairy and a Village Dairy Cooperative Society. They also met the Vice-chancellor of Anand Agricultural University and the Principal, Dairy Science College, Anand.

They commented that the two day visit on May 23 and 24, 2006 was very fruitful and effective.

APEDA Export Award - 2004-05

GCMMF received APEDA Export Award 2004-05 for the best performance in exports of dairy products from India. This is the 10th consecutive year GCMMF received the APEDA Award. The award was presented by Shri Kamal Nath, Hon’ble Minster of Commerce, Govt. of India to our representatives Mr. R.R. Choudhary and Mr. D.K. Bhatnagar at a function held in Delhi on 6th April, 2006. GCMMF’s export turnover was Rs. 115 Crores in the year 2004-05, which is a growth of 160% over previous year turnover (Rs. 44 Crores in 03-04).

19th Hoshin Kanri Meeting

GCMMF conducted its 19th Corporate Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment) meeting at Anand from 22nd to 25th February, 2006. Managing Director, General Managers, Depot-in-Charges, Zonal Managers, Departmental Heads, Product Officers, etc. participated in the above meeting. GCMMF at corporate level conducts this kind of meeting twice a year - one in February and another in September. The meeting is conducted in LSIP (Large Scale Interactive Process) manner. During the meeting MD gave his broad direction for the year 2006-07 and all participants derived their Hoshins at the end of 4 days’ meeting.

Participation in Trade Fair at Shanghai, China

GCMMF participated in a trade fair organized by Shanghai Food Show at Shanghai, China during 15th to 17th February, 2006 through their Wholesale Dealer at Hong Kong. The event received a good publicity and a very good response from Chinese Customers. GCMMF is already exporting Butter, Cheese and Skim Milk Powder to China.

Visit of Delegation from Pakistan

A 12 member delegation from Pakistan comprising top officials from the Govt. of Pakistan, Dairy Pakistan, the Private Sector and farmers visited Anand during Feb. 9th and 11th to study the Amul model of cooperative dairying. They had fruitful discussions with Dr. V. Kurien, Chairman and Mr. B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, GCMMF.

During their stay, they visited Amul Dairy and Museum, GCMMF, IRMA, Vidya Dairy, IDMC, Amul Research and Development Association and Village Dairy Cooperative Society.

Dr. Baz Mohammad Junejo, Secretary, Livestock Department, Govt. of Sindh, Pakistan felt that the success story of Dr. Kurien in dairy development in India was a matchless one. He said "not only in the interest of poor farmers, but Dr. Kurien has initiated developmental work for India and Asian countries. We wish to replicate this idea for dairy development in Pakistan. Let us hope for success."

Visit of UNCTAD Official

Mr. Abhijit Das, Senior Trade Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade & Development had visited Amul Dairy & Museum, GCMMF and IRMA on February 9th, 2006. He met Mr. B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, GCMMF and discussed with him the dairy scenario.

After his visit to Amul dairy, he said, how the vision and perseverance of one man can change fortunes of poor families is well illustrated by this impressive institution. It was a proud privilege visiting it.

Visit of Delegation from Irish Food Trade Board, Board Bia

A delegation from Ireland comprising Mr. Jim Beecher, Secretary General of Irish Dept. of Agriculture; Mr. Aidan Cotter - CEO of Bord Bia (Irish Food Board); Mr. Owen Brooks - Director of International Markets, Bord Bia; Mr. Noel O'Meara - International Director, Irish Dairy Board and Mr. Finbar O'Driscoll, President, Kerry Group Plc., met Dr. V. Kurien, Chairman and Shri B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, GCMMF on Saturday, January 21, 2006.

They held in depth discussions on the dairy scenario and visited Amul Dairy and Museum.

They felt that the Amul experiment was a highly impressing story of the development of an industry and the realization of a vision. The visit was an eye-opener for them.

Visit of World Bank Vice President

Mr. Praful Patel, Vice President, South Asia Region, World Bank visited Anand on Friday, January 20, 2006, to study the impact of the Amul Model of Dairy Development on the growth of India's dairy industry. He was accompanied by Ms. Priya Basu, Lead Economist, and Shri Inderbir Singh Dhingra, Specialist, Finance and Private Sector, World Bank. They held wide ranging discussions with Dr V. Kurien, Chairman and Shri BM Vyas, Managing Director GCMMF.

He lauded the efforts of the cooperatives in creating prosperity in the villages by providing sustainable income to the farmers. He believed that there was a scope for replication of this model in several countries of Africa where the farmers face severe poverty.

He and his team also interacted with Faculty members at IRMA and visited the Amul Dairy. They were impressed by the progress made by the dairy over the last 6 decades.

Visit of IAS Officer Trainees of 2005 Batch

As part of their professional training, 12 newly recruited Indian Administrative Service Officer Trainees of 2005 Batch undertook a study tour of the Amul model on January 02 and 03, 2006. They visited Amul Dairy & Museum, Vidya Dairy, IRMA, Tribhuvandas Foundation, GCMMF and a Village Dairy Co-operative Society. They met Shri B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, and Dr. V. Kurien, Chairman, GCMMF. They also interacted with Faculty & Students of IRMA.

They felt that the visit was one of their most enriching ones in their Bharat Darshan.

Amul launches www.amul.tv channel

GCMMF has launched a new website www.amul.tv for streaming its feature films, television shows, advertisements, etc. At present this page contains feature films viz., Manthan – The Churning & Mamuli Ram, Amul India Story, Amul Surabhi episodes and Amul Product TV Commercials. The idea of this site is to have a continuous play of the above as per the programme schedule which will be online within a short period of time. Please keep watching this site………