AMUL 'is truly the pride of India': President

President Pranab Mukherjee today said AMUL enterprise is truly the pride of India, adding it personifies the spirit of selfless dedication and far-sighted leadership.

President Mukherjee, who inaugurated a state-of-the-art cattle feed manufacturing plant of AMUL here, said the onus is on the current generation of farmer-leaders, professionals and other stakeholders to expand the AMUL movement in a way that benefits farmers across the board.

He urged all to ensure that this world-class institution continues to progress with the same passion and commitment and with the same values of integrity, efficiency and honesty which the founding fathers had instilled in AMUL.

President Mukherjee said the journey of AMUL since 1946 from a 'drop' to a 'flood' of milk was challenging.

"It was made possible because of AMUL's ability to be sensitive and proactive to the needs of farmers and dynamic to the changing circumstances. The institutional structure called 'AMUL Model' or 'Anand Pattern' that emerged from the dairy cooperative movement has created a billion rupee worth brand while embracing the poorest of poor farmers," said President Mukherjee.

"Through logistics innovation, AMUL has ensured easy availability of high-quality packaged milk and dairy products across the country," he added

Asserting that AMUL is today the largest liquid milk brand in Asia and the largest food brand in India, President Mukherjee said it is also India's largest exporter of dairy products.

The President acknowledged the tremendous contribution of the 3.6 million farmers of AMUL family and saluted the 150 million Indian milk producers for their efforts towards nation-building.

He said their dedication, ingenuity, sacrifice and hard work have ensured food security for our country in the critical area of milk and dairy products.

President Mukherjee said the sharp decline in global dairy commodity prices in the last one year has reduced milk prices for dairy farmers by 20 to 50 percent worldwide.

"In pleasant contrast, farmers associated with AMUL Dairy have received higher prices for the milk they have poured into their cooperative. The spirit of cooperation espoused by the pioneering farmers of AMUL has triggered a socio-economic revolution in rural India transforming an entire nation," said President Mukherjee.

"The winning combination of the AMUL experiment has been the convergence of farmers' wisdom, democratic set-up, professional management and adoption of right technology. It is a model worth emulating and following the same could help address problems in other areas faced by our farming community," he added.