Anand: how dairy cooperatives shaped India’s milk capital
Anand’s development as a dairy centre took place alongside the spread of India’s cooperative movement in the 20th century. Farmers joined together to organise the collection, processing and sale of milk. This arrangement gave producers a structured way to reach buyers and a more direct role in the dairy business. Collective organisation also offered opportunities to improve their livelihoods. The system developed around Anand subsequently served as an example for regions seeking to improve their own milk production and distribution.
Amul grew out of a farmers’ cooperative founded in Gujarat and extended its business across India. Its range encompasses milk, butter, cheese and curd, among other dairy products. As the brand reached consumers nationwide, it retained its connections with milk producers. Its expansion brought wider attention to Anand and to the cooperative organisation behind the business, linking the city’s dairy identity with a nationally recognised consumer brand.
The city was also associated with the White Revolution, which changed how India produced and distributed milk. The movement sought to increase the reach of dairy cooperatives, develop collection networks and improve milk availability for consumers. Gujarat’s cooperative system offered a model for connecting farmers to organised markets through coordinated dairy operations. Anand’s experience became part of the broader development of organised milk production in India.
Dr Verghese Kurien, known as the Father of India’s White Revolution, worked from Anand. He helped extend the cooperative dairy system and supported its adoption elsewhere in the country. His work strengthened producers’ position within the industry and supported the development of farmer-led organisations. Kurien’s contribution remains closely associated with the city’s history in dairy development, rural management and the modernisation of India’s milk sector.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has its headquarters in Anand. The organisation has helped develop India’s dairy industry and forms part of the city’s concentration of institutions concerned with milk production and cooperation. Its activities extend Anand’s involvement in the sector beyond the operations of dairy brands and individual milk cooperatives.
Anand is also home to the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), whose focus is rural management and development. Alongside the NDDB, it contributes to the city’s role in agricultural cooperation, rural development and dairy-sector knowledge. These institutions sit within the same city whose farmers’ cooperative movement provided an example for dairy organisation in other parts of India.
