The ‘Amul revolution’ started as awareness among the farmers grew and matured into a protest movement. Over five decades ago, the life of a farmer in Kaira District was very much like that of his/her counterpart anywhere else in India. His/her income was derived almost entirely from seasonal crops. The income from milk buffaloes was undependable. Private traders and middlemen controlled the marketing and distribution system for the milk. As milk is perishable, farmers were compelled to sell it for whatever they were offered. Often, they had to sell cream and ghee at throwaway prices. In this situation, the one who gained was the private trader. Gradually, the realization dawned on the farmers that the exploitation by the trader could be checked only if marketed their milk themselves. Amul was the result of that realization.
The Kaira Union began pasteurizing milk for the Bombay Milk Scheme in June 1948. By the end of 1948, more than 400 farmers joined in more village societies, and the quantity of milk handled by one Union increased from 250 to 5,000 liters a day.
Currently Amul has 2.28 million producer members with milk collection average of 5.08 million litres/day.