On World Milk Day (June 1), the Board of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) during the General Assembly of IDF unanimously elected R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) (Amul) as the board member.
Commenting on the decision of the board, Sodhi said, “lt 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.”
He added further 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," he explained.
Know more about Sodhi:
- He has 39 years of rich experience with Amul and took over as Managing Director of GCMMF (company managing brand Amul) in the year 2010.
- Under his leadership, milk procurement prices paid by Amul to farmers increased by 140 per cent in the last 10 years from Rs 337 per kg fat in 2009-10 to Rs 810 per kg fat in 2020-21.
- Sodhi encouraged the farmers of Amul to increase milk procurement by 171 per cent in the last 10 years from 91 lakhs litres per day in 2009-10 to 250 lakhs litres per day in 2020-21.
- During the same period (last ten years), under the leadership of R S Sodhi, the business turnover of GCMMF has grown by 390 per cent from Rs 8,005 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 39,238 crore during 2020-21.
- He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from CTAE. Udaipur, India. After graduation, he completed his Post-Graduation in Rural Management from Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).
- After completion of post-graduation from IRMA, he joined GCMMF (Amul) in the year 1982.
- Recently. he has also received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris-Causa) from Anand Agricultural University.
