SCOPE's Experience in Dairy Cooperatives: 2003-2004

 The efforts we have been making for the last few years for the establishment of self reliant and self-sustaining, vibrant and economically independent and profitable co-operatives was the major focus of our activities during most of the year. We have been following up with various organizations for the establishment of a model of independent, new generation and profitable co-operatives in the state but unfortunately our efforts have faced one hurdle after the other. We were delighted when we heard/ read in the papers in August-September that Dr. V. Kurien, the Chairman of the Gujrat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) said that Amul was going to invest Rs.10 Crores in the state to revitalize the dairy sector and generate employment in J&K state. We were all very excited especially because we had been in direct contact with various organizations that Dr. V. Kurien was actively associated with. We had networked with some of these organizations for the enactment of the J&K Self Reliant Co-operatives Act, 1999. In fact when the 1999 Act was enacted in J&K, Dr. Kurien had hailed it as a giant leap in the right direction and had also asked states like Gujrat and Maharashtra which boasted of hugely profitable co-operatives to follow the path shown by J&K. We wrote to Dr. V. Kurien, telling him how excited we are about Amul’s decision to invest in J&K and how we wanted to be associated with this project giving him details about all the activities undertaken by us thus far and the opinion of the various teams from NDDB that there was vast potential for the production of milk and establishment of profitable dairy co-operatives in Khour Block of Akhnoor Tehsil, District Jammu. We were asked by Dr. V. Kurien’s office to meet a team of senior managers from the GCMMF that were to visit J&K in the month of September 2003. We met this three-member team, which was headed by Mr. R. S. Khanna, General Manager, Marketing, GCMMF. The meeting was in our opinion most disappointing for we felt that this team had a very bureaucratic approach to the whole issue of setting up self-reliant co-operatives in J&K. We felt that there was too much dependence and expectation of support from the Government for the establishment of their activities. The team clearly told us that Amul is a commercial organization and whatever has to be done must be keeping the financial interests of the shareholders of GCMMF in mind. We were subsequently also informed that for the time being it is the powdered milk from the Amul plant in Anand that is going to be liquefied and sold in J&K in the initial stages and the interest of the local farmers and milk producers would be kept on the back burner. After meeting these officials we felt that the economy of J&K would not really benefit from this arrangement between Amul and the J&K Government and in fact the J&K Government had only given additional marketing territory to GCMMF on a platter. We put forth our point of view before the Agriculture Minister and the Commissioner Secretary, Agriculture Production, but were advised not to disturb the apple cart because the issue had already received a lot of publicity and it would not be proper for the Government to back track at this stage.

We were just recovering from the disappointment of our interaction with the GCMMF that the Prime Ministers Special Employment Package for J&K was announced in late 2003. We were delighted to learn that special emphasis was to be laid on generating employment outside the Government sector and especially employment generation in rural based activities. We were also informed that we could submit a proposal for funding under Support to Training and Employment Program (STEP) of the Department of Women & Child Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. This fitted in perfectly with our planned activities for setting up of a profitable model co-operative in J&K. We wrote to the Chairperson, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Anand, asking them to help us in preparing the project proposal for setting up of dairy co-operatives in Khour Block and subsequently for help in implementing this proposal if the same was approved. In spite of our long association with the NDDB and the various interactions that had taken place over the period of the last four-five years between the NDDB officials and us, the NDDB was still hesitant to work with us. We were told that this was because the NDDB usually works with the Government and has probably never partnered with a Non- Governmental Organization in setting up Dairy Co-operatives. We had to remind the NDDB management about our role in the enactment of the J&K Self-Reliant Co-operatives Act 1999 and the efforts on the part of our organization to promote the setting up of at least some model co-operatives under this Act.  We had to tell them about how the farmers of Khour Block were themselves interested in the setting up of the dairy co-operatives and about the visit of NDDB officials to the area and how these officials had agreed that there was great potential for setting up of dairy business in that area. We had to remind them about the visit of the farmers from this block on a Farmers Initiation Program to the Institute of Rural Management, Anand; and about the Memorandum of Understanding between the NDDB and the J&K Government, which followed the intervention of the Chief Secretary J&K on our behalf; and about the visit of the Regional Manager, North, NDDB to Jammu and his interaction with all the NGOs interested in setting up Dairy Co-operative in rural areas around Jammu and the selection of SCOPE as the resource organization due to its past experience and expertise; and also the fact that we had already submitted a proposal to the NDDB which was still under consideration. We believe that it was due to all these reasons listed above that the NDDB agreed to associate with us in the formulation of the project proposal for the setting up of Women Dairy Co-operatives in Khour and Akhnoor Blocks and associate with us as an expert agency in implementing the project if accepted. We received a letter from Shri D. Tikku, Managing Director NDDB, Anand, dated December 29^th 2003, informing us that NDDB will be happy to associate with SCOPE in this endeavour. Thereafter Shri J.S Kalsi form the Ludhiana office of the NDDB has associated with us in the process of drafting of the project proposal and has also visited the Khour and Akhnoor Blocks with us. The technical inputs are ready and only a few minor details within the organization need to be worked out and after this is done we are sure a long awaited dream that all of us so passionately share would be realized. We hope to submit this proposal in the very near future and will start implementing it thereafter. We shall keep the members informed about all the development in this regard as I am sure that all of us are waiting for the good news. 

In the meantime, we continued with our field level activities and held as many as nine public meetings in different villages in Khour Block and discussed with them the developments right from the enactment of the J&K Self Reliant Cooperatives Act, 1999, our efforts to set up independent and self reliant cooperatives under this act and the tremendous response we had received from the people of this area. We explained to them the reasons for the delay and assured them that they would not have to wait much longer. The response of the farmers at these meetings was very encouraging and they re-assured us that they were looking forward to initiating the Dairy activities in the area. The farmers felt that special intervention was needed in their area especially because their lives had been disturbed due to frequent displacements in their area and a meaningful economic activity was required. We assured them that this issue is very close to our hearts and we are making our best efforts to start the project as soon as possible.