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ICT application in a dairy industry: The e-experience of Amul
Abstract
The use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in rural areas of Gujarat by GCMMFL has made the operation of the dairy industry different. While it has always been argued that investments related to ICT made in rural India are not effective, the case of Amul proves that, where there is a will there is a way. Amul has become rural India's flag bearer in the IT revolution. This paper analyses the use of ICT in the dairy industry by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. The system makes it easy for the farmers to get the cash payment as soon as the milk is delivered. The Amul experience indicates that if properly designed and implemented, the rural poor can benefit from ICT platforms. Customization of IT platforms for use in rural communities is emerging as a major opportunity for change.
... These cooperatives are run by farmers themselves in the form a rural enterprise. The concept of having the cooperative was mooted in 1946 [3]. These cooperatives came up collaboratively to form a union called AMU. ...
... These cooperatives came up collaboratively to form a union called AMU. This union aimed to collectively collaborate for supply, production and marketing and manage the entire supply chain themselves [3]. ...
... The Growth of DCS and Unions [3] ...
Electronic mediation in conducting business ldquoon-linerdquo (e-business) in enterprises is well accepted. However, adopting a suitable e-business strategy has remained a challenge for enterprises. E-business related complexities are growing manifold in rural enterprises, especially in Indian context, because of limitations in bringing all stakeholders to common mediating platform with equity. Rural resources in India are yet to develop to an acceptable level to help rural enterprises conduct e-business seamlessly; most prominently among them are related infrastructure, information on input and output markets and skill set. In this paper, prospects and challenges of establishing e-business for rural enterprises in Indian context are discussed. A case is presented to display possible strengths in this enterprise to exploit opportunities that e-business environment provides.
... In the initial phase of 21 st century, the use of ICT in rural Gujarat state by GCMMF (AMUL) has improved performance effectiveness across the board, from milk testing to data maintenance to cash payments made to farmers. This case study demonstrates how properly planned, implemented, and managed ICT can benefit both rural residents and the dairy industry (Bowonder et al., 2003). The paper suggested that customisation of various IT platforms is the future of Indian dairy industry. ...
... If the lot is accepted, the amount slip comes out. This reduces the chance of bias and ensures transparency in milk transaction with the farmer(Bowonder et al., 2003).(b) Electronic Payment GatewayE-payments and e billing are facilities provided to cattle farmers for easy payments. ...
The dairy sector in India is a substantial part of agriculture. The advent of technology in the sector has further contributed to better farm management, health monitoring of milching units, improved productivity and ease in managing operations with reduced wastage. Global evidences show that the adoption of technologies in dairy farming has significantly facilitated the objectives of precision dairy farming. In India particularly, the prime focus is upon the strengthening of the milk cooperatives based supply chain by adjoining small holding farmers to the state milk federations. Other than the supply chain coordination and using technologies
at milk unions and logistics, the dairy development board has recently come forward to provide basic e-consultancy and services to the farmers with the help of technologies. But the awareness, promotion and adoption of in-house technologies such as milking machines, RFID cow collars, silage makers, ICTs, etc. are at the low pace. The reason is major portion of unorganised sector (i.e. around 60-70%) with low herd size. As per the research indications, it has been found that encouraging the development of organised dairy farms can help to cater future rise in demand of milk products both domestically and internationally. In contrast to the west where the concept of ‘dairy farm’ is more popular that manage every task with the help
of technologies from farm to consumer, Indian dairy supply relies on milk cooperatives, unorganised local supplies and self-consumption, and thus rests less scope for farm technologies, expansion and restricts financial recognition in the GDP of organised sector. With the help of systems methodologies, this research is an attempt to showcase a holistic scenario of technology adoption in the dairy farms of North India using interviews with 60 dairy farm units as a base. 21 varied domain experts from dairy were included in the research work to study the enablers and challenges of technology adoption, role of technology in value maximisation of dairy farm units supported by a case study and development of the strategic model to help the decision makers and policy planners to make efforts in the desired directions. The sufficiently greater number of factors in the model result serves as the base for future researchers to choose and test the validity of the crucial factors using various statistical techniques.
... Farmers also reported that mobile phones proved to be useful during health emergencies. 7 A study conducted by Bowonder, Prasad, & Kotla, in 2016 argued that investments in ICT made in rural India are not effective. But the case of Amul proves that, where there is a will there is a way. ...
... The system makes it easy for farmers to get cash payment as soon as they delivered milk. Amul experience indicates that if properly (Syiem & Raj, 2015) 8 (Bowonder, Prasad & Kotla, 2016) VAMNICOM, Pune 25 designed ICT products are implemented, then rural poor can benefit from ICT platforms. Customization of ICT platforms for use in rural communities is emerging as a major opportunity for change. ...
We have conducted academic research on ERP modules use in milk
cooperatives. Our study was oriented around milk cooperatives and
cattle farmers. Objective of study was to understand how ICT base
ERP system can improve coordination between coordination between
milk cooperative and cattle farmers and to propose ICT based ERP
model. We have conducted our research in four different district of
Gujarat. We have collected primary data from cattle farmer as well as
milk cooperatives. In this research paper we will discuss research details
and also discuss proposed ERP model
... Farmers also reported that mobile phones proved to be useful during health emergencies. 7 A study conducted by Bowonder, Prasad, & Kotla, in 2016 argued that investments in ICT made in rural India are not effective. But the case of Amul proves that, where there is a will there is a way. ...
... The system makes it easy for farmers to get cash payment as soon as they delivered milk. Amul experience indicates that if properly (Syiem & Raj, 2015) 8 (Bowonder, Prasad & Kotla, 2016) VAMNICOM, Pune 25 designed ICT products are implemented, then rural poor can benefit from ICT platforms. Customization of ICT platforms for use in rural communities is emerging as a major opportunity for change. ...
We have conducted academic research on ERP modules use in milk cooperatives. Our study was oriented around milk cooperatives and cattle farmers. Objective of study was to understand how ICT base ERP system can improve coordination between milk cooperative and cattle farmers. Based on study we have proposed ICT base ERP modules. We have conducted our research in four different district of Gujarat. We have collected primary data from cattle farmer as well as milk cooperatives. In this research paper we will discuss research details and also discuss proposed ERP modules.
... There are 1million farmers organized into village milk producer's co-operative societies and procurement of milk is 13 million litres per day. (Bowonder, Prasad & Kotla, 2005) Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative, based at Anand in the state of Gujarat, India. in rural India are not effective, the case of Amul proves that, where there is a will there is a way. Amul has become rural India's flag bearer in the IT revolution... ...
... The Amul experience indicates that if properly designed and implemented, the rural poor can benefit from ICT platforms. Customization of IT platforms for use in rural communities is emerging as a major opportunity for change (Bowonder, Prasad & Kotla, 2005). ...
... It provides updated information of all agricultural, marketing, dairy, credit details and it also acts as the gateway network to the internet i.e. global network. Bowonder et al. (2005) revealed that ICT application at milk collection not only led to increase in milk production in the country but as also helped the farmers in getting better services and profit before this experience. there has been a shift from vendor to co-operative system. ...
The present study was conducted in four districts of Maharashtra namely Kolhapur and Sangli from western region; and Nagpur and Bhandara from eastern region. Data were collected from 240 respondents through structured interview schedule. Also 30 experts in dairying were selected to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of commercial dairy farming in the study area through questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by using appropriate statistical tools, which led to meaningful major findings. Majority of the respondents had small herd size upto 20 animals and annual income between Rs. 1.5 to 5 lakh. Most of the respondents had medium level of entrepreneurial behaviour. Well-developed infrastructure for dairy development, efficient input support and services provided by dairy cooperatives were regarded as major strengths in western region than that of eastern region by the experts. High cost of inputs, low emphasis on clean milk production, lack of funds for extension activities were major weaknesses in western region, whereas lack of availability of green fodder, lack of emphasis on hi-tech dairy farming, scarcity of water, poor adoption of improved dairy farming practices were major weaknesses in eastern region as reported by the experts. Regarding use of ICT, most of the respondents used mobile phone followed by radio, TV, dairy information system, automatic milk collection system and information kiosk. Most of the respondents had medium level of adoption of recommended scientific dairy farming practices. Higher price for milk in urban market, timely payment by dairy cooperatives, remunerative price for milk by dairy cooperatives, adoption of improved dairy farming practices, timely extension support were regarded as major factors influencing commercial dairy farming. The well developed infrastructure and established network of cooperative provides better environment for development of dairy sector. Remunerative price for milk and procurement by dairy cooperatives, government and private milk plant provides good prospects for commercial dairy farming as an entrepreneurial venture.
... orted to contribute significantly to rural incomes and employment through its three-tier organization (Gandhi and Jain, 2011). Recently, the GCMMF -Amul has taken the initiative of installing Automatic Milk Collection Unit Systems (AMCUS) at village societies to enhance the transparency of transaction between the farmer and the cooperative society (Bowonder, et. al., 2005). AMCUS makes entire milk collection process automated. Right from weighing and measuring the fat of the milk to make 78 payments to the farmer and generate analytical reports in all the steps are taken care of in the solution. These systems also gave cooperative societies a unique advantage by reducing the processing time to 10% of what ...
South Asian Diary Sector
... Vandeplas (2011) revealed that effective information systems can improve the system efficiency, productivity, and traceability of dairy industry. Bowonder, Raghu Prasad, and Kotla (2005) discussed the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the dairy industry and revealed ICT can help in improving the overall productivity of dairy industry. Kumar (2010) explored the issues related to the decision-making process in dairy industry and demonstrated that it leads to better SCM in the dairy industry. ...
Dairy industry plays a vital role in enriching the socioeconomic status of rural India, particularly in women empowerment. In general, either a structure or subcomponents of dairy supply chain is discussed in the literature, but the rational (why, what, how) is missing. Further, the structured-literature-review (SLR) of dairy supply chain management (DSCM) practices is scarce. This paper presents an SLR of articles published in the context of DSCM practices. The paper further assesses the extent to which the SLR approach can be applied to DSCM so as to produce a consistent knowledge stock by evolving a context-sensitive study. The key challenges discussed in reviewed articles are highlighted. Authors selected the articles published in peer-reviewed journals and categorized the articles published in recent eleven years into three main subjects of supply chain i.e. distribution management (DM), risk management (RM), and decision-making strategies (DMS). The findings of this study show that the food safety, product quality, and associated economic benefits in dairy industry can be achieved through technological innovation, eradication of uncertainties, and introducing the global SCM practices into lean and green initiatives.
... Milk analyzers measure the fat content of all the milk delivered to the cooperatives. Farmers are paid daily according to the volume and fat content of the milk (which may be a mix of cows and buffalo milk) they delivered to the cooperative (Bowonder et al, 2005). To function in a sustainable way, a quality management system needs to pass a series of tests. ...
Producer organizations are often said to have the potential to help farmers meet the increasing quality requirements of agricultural value chains. However, the external environment may influence producer organizations' room for maneuver in implementing effective quality management. This article assesses the influence of the relations between producer organizations, producers and other actors in the value chain on the capacity of producer organizations to implement quality management. Our analysis focuses on four Moroccan milk collection cooperatives that started using a milk analyzer with the aim of eliminating cheating by their suppliers. The cooperatives' room for maneuver in improving quality management was limited by the presence of competitors for milk collection and by the agro-industry's lack of transparency in the way its own quality controls were applied. Future studies on how producer organizations can meet the quality challenge should include the strategies of other actors in the value chain in their analyses.
In this paper we describe a case study of a dairy cooperative, AMUL, in western India that has developed a successful model for doing business in large emerging economy. It has been primarily responsible, through its innovative practices, for India to become world’s largest producer of milk. This paper draws various lessons from the experiences of AMUL that would be useful to cooperatives globally as well as firms that are interested in doing business in large emerging markets like India and China. Many of these economies have underdeveloped markets and fragmented supply bases. Market failures for many of these small producers are high. On the other hand, the size of both, markets and the suppliers is large. As a result, firms that identify appropriate business strategies that take into account these characteristics are more likely to succeed in these markets. The following are some key message from AMUL’s success: firms in these environments need to simultaneously develop markets and suppliers to synchronize demand and supply planning, develop or become a part of network of producers (i.e., cooperatives in this case) to obtain scale economies, focus on operational effectiveness to achieve cost leadership to enable low price strategy. In addition, a central focus to bring the diverse element together and a long-term approach are required. In emerging economies different industrial sectors may be at different stages of development. In some of the sectors all of the above environmental characteristics faced may not hold. However, a subset of strategies followed by AMUL would still be very useful. Thus, firms that are contemplating addressing large undeveloped markets or have an intention of taking advantage of extensive but marginal supplier base would still benefit
Artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to satisfy its guarantee of conveying genuine worth, driven by ongoing advances in the accessibility of significant information, calculation, and algorithms in Agriculture. The most recent applications will be to improve accuracy data about what’s going on the dairy management by improving what is being identified and estimated. An outcome of this is more precise cautions to dairy management. Another is an expanded capacity to comprehend why marvels happen in dairy management frameworks, to improve their administration. From improved information and understanding come improved forecasts, empowering more ideal choices about how to oversee dairy management frameworks and animating the advancement of choice help and recommender frameworks. As a rule, advanced mechanics and automated frameworks will eliminate a great part of the requirement for human dynamics and improve dairy management efficiencies and homestead wellbeing. AI will likewise be expected to empower associations to outfit the estimation of data disseminated all through gracefully chains, including dairy management information. Machine learning and data science rise as a significant worldview to improve how data about dairy management elements are composed to help the industry’s dynamics. There are likewise liable to be have negative effects from AI, for example, disturbance to the jobs and aptitudes required from dairy management workers, showing the need to consider the social and moral effects each time another AI ability is presented.
ICT has the biggest potential today to become a key vehicle for the socio-economic advancement of women. There exists a plethora of opportunities for ICTs to improve women's economic activities in the field of trade, governance, education, health, crafts, employment in formal as well as informal sectors. It can be used to fight many social issues and to empower weaker segments of society. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the opportunities which ICT can provide to improve the life of a woman in India. It will include the voices which speak of how women can fully participate and benefit from ICT and how ICT can be used as a tool to empower women. Women also should have an equal advantage of technology and the use of ICT should not be restricted to the upper section of the society. The aim here is to explore how women in India can improve their lives by using ICT. At last, it will also suggest ways on how all the segments of the female population can have benefited from technology.
The urban–rural gap in economic development in India makes rural poverty reduction an urgent task, and the aim of this study is to ascertain the mechanism of a community-based inclusive business in poverty reduction and sustainable rural development. This study focuses specifically on AMUL, the community-based dairy cooperative society contributing to small-scale producers’ organizations and rural development. As a paradigm of India’s dairy cooperative movement, AMUL has become the largest player in the Indian dairy market. Using AMUL as a case study, we derived the following conclusions. The basic units of AMUL are rural communities, which form a joint association to promote mass production and marketing and increase competitiveness. By building nationwide marketing channels, AMUL has established a system that returns most of the profit to the small-scale producers. Because AMUL is a cooperative society rather than a multinational or commercial corporation, producers rather than shareholders benefit most.
Computer Application will optimize solution in dairy industry. Using solution, user has optimized their production in the reducing production cost and unit costs. Computer application/ automation will improve the physical working environment considering the number of monotonous, repetitive tasks to be eliminated or minimize, increasing efficiency in production. Computer application available in the agriculture today, makes it possible to manage a dairy industry on a more detailed level than before. The dairy manager can make more rational decision through acquiring amount of information, the dairy manager has to operate several computers each day and manually transfer data from one unit to another. The paper aims to analyze information feasibility and the application of computer in modern dairy industry, this system as dairy management tools to describe, document and control all processes on dairy production, especially the multipurpose and multi-agent system application support management of the dairy and provide documentation for entire dairy supply chain members. Customization of IT platforms for use in dairy industry is emerging as a major opportunity for change.
The Atomic Energy Commission (COMENA) has taken some active steps for the adoption of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based training modules in the Maintenance of Nuclear Instrumentation (MNI). The overall objective of this programme is to establish a sustainable national capability to use the potential of ICT for training and education in nuclear science and applications. This article reviews a pilot experience launched from the telecentre of the Nuclear Research Center of Algiers (CRNA). It describes the organisational and material means for a good and successful training experience, the obstacles met, the challenges taken up and finally, some proposals for a better implementation of this training mode for nuclear instrumentation.
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- Chandra Sekhara
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ICT as an instrument to leverage: The millennium development goals
- S Khan
S. Khan, ICT as an instrument to leverage: The millennium development
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