Título: Verghese Kurien
Seção: Spreading around and nationwide
Background: Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 - 9 September 2012), known as the 'Father of the White Revolution' in India, was a social entrepreneur whose "billion-litre idea", Operation Flood - the world's largest agricultural dairy development programme, made dairy farming India's largest self-sustaining industry and the largest rural employment provider, being a third of all rural income, with benefits of raising incomes and credit, riddance of debt dependence, nutrition, education, health, gender parity and empowerment, breakdown of caste barriers and grassroots democracy and leadership. It made India the world's largest milk producer from a milk-deficient nation, which doubled milk available per person and increased milk output four-fold, in 30 years. He pioneered the "Anand pattern" of dairy cooperatives to replicate it nationwide, based on Amul, his standalone cooperative then, and today India's largest food brand, where 70-80% of the price paid by consumers went as cash to dairy farmers who controlled the marketing, the procurement and the processing of milk and milk products as the cooperative's owners, while hiring professionals for their skills and inducting technology, in managing it. Rather than focusing directly on removing caste and class conflicts which get entrenched as vested interests, instead, he worked singularly on the belief that economic self-interest of all sections of the village-society would make them align together to grow their cooperative.

Conteúdo: In 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri tasked Kurien to replicate the dairy's 'Anand pattern' nationwide for which, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was founded under Kurien on his conditions, that it be independent of governmental control and that it be set up at Anand, away from the capitals and closer to farmers. Kurien was mindful of meddling by the political class and bureaucrats sitting in the capital cities, letting it be known upfront.  He was bold in dealing with donors like the UNICEF for aid, and confronted the New Zealand government and a powerful lobby in countries which, he realised with some foresight, wanted to "convert aid into trade" for their companies, at a cross-purpose to his wanting India to convert aid to become self-made. As what the donors would eventually come to want, would have harmed his fledgling dairies, instead, he used the proceeds from the sale of that "mountains and lakes" of dumped aid in the Indian markets as his "billion-litre idea" to stem the movement of high-yield cattle of native breeds to urban areas, which subsequently, would face needless slaughter, reverse this flow by setting up milksheds & dairies all over the nation and stabilise the markets of big cities for their ensuing produce. International experts who visited Anand, were so fascinated by Kurien's work that, they would stay back for extended periods of time wanting to work alongside him. In return, Kurien would engage them for their expertise on salaries a

user: what was spread around?

assistant: setting up milksheds & dairies all over the nation

user: why was this popular?

assistant: stabilise the markets of big cities for their ensuing produce.

user: were there ever any problems?

assistant: he moved in swiftly to break a contractor's cartel and set prices right

user: was he able to succeed in doing do?

assistant: set prices right in the face of the pampered section of consumers from the powerful class of the capital city, before they could lobby against the move.

user: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

assistant: The Anand dairy was replicated in Gujarat's districts around it and he set all of them under Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) in 1973

user: were they profitable?

assistant: dominating their respective state markets but intervening in neighbouring states, today.

user: were was his head base?

assistant: In 1979, he founded the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) to groom managers for the cooperatives.

user: was this successful?

assistant: Many states would emulate setting up their federations based on this pattern with varying degrees of success,