Amul boss RS Sodhi has been unanimously elected to the board of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) during the General Assembly of IDF held on June 1.
The Managing Director of Amul marketer Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) was nominated by Indian National Committee to IDF, which was unanimously accepted, an official statement informed on Wednesday.
Commenting on his nomination to IDF, Sodhi said, “It is an honour for me to represent the world’s largest milk producing country and contribute to promoting Sustainable Goals of dairying and also meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
Sodhi has spent nearly four decades with the cooperative dairy behemoth Amul. His contribution in making Amul among the world’s top 10 dairy brands has been remarkable.
The business turnover of GCMMF has grown by 390 per cent from ₹8,005 crore in 2009-10 to ₹39,238 crore during 2020-21.
Notably, in November last year, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)’s then chairman Dilip Rath was unanimously elected to the board of the global dairy body.
IDF is an international non-governmental, non-profit association having members from National Committees constituted by dairy organisations in each country. India is represented by the National Committee (INC) of the IDF. The Secretary (ADF), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India is the President of the INC-IDF and NDDB, as its Secretariat, coordinates its activities.
‘Co-operative approach’
Sodhi further added that India’s cooperative approach constitutes an essential strategy by which millions of dairy farmers are being empowered to have a level playing field in the market and get a fair share of the value of milk. “Dairying is the growth engine of our farm sector. It is not only about providing nutrition to consumers but also about ensuring sustainable livelihood for our dairy farmers.”
The impressive growth and self-sufficiency in the dairy sector has been made possible by the concerted efforts of the dairy farmers, Government of India, NDDB and many other stakeholders.
The global dairy sector is poised to play an important role towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal aimed at eliminating hunger by 2030.