CIC Group ventures into greenhouse farming
Sri Lanka’s long-standing conglomerate in agriculture, the CIC Group has ventured into modern agriculture practices in a big way.
Greenhouse
The company now promotes the cultivation of vegetables in greenhouses using the latest technology, Samantha Ranatunga, the Group Managing Director/CEO told the Business Times.
High value vegetables will be grown for export supporting the country’s export drive and building CIC’s reputation as an exporter of high quality vegetables, he disclosed.
The greenhouses are envisaged to be largely self-sufficient and sustainable in terms of water requirement – through the use of a rainwater harvesting water reservoir and state of the art techniques resulting in near-zero water wastage.
The project has also generated substantial employment opportunities for area residents.
The Golden Harvest Project, another futuristic initiative with an investment of approximately Rs. 1 billion, which envisages substantially increasing the productivity of corn farming in Sri Lanka, is already making its impact felt in the local industry, he said.
As part of the project two plants with a total dryer and storage capacity of 32,000 MT were constructed by CIC and are already in operation.
In addition, farming communities are provided training and expertise as part of the project, which has enriched the lives of more than 13,400 farmers in Moneragala and Anuradhapura.
The project also ensures safer inputs in the production of poultry feeds via the application of proper drying techniques.
CIC is the only seed to shelf agriculture company in Sri Lanka that manages its own farm land, works directly with over 40,000 rural out-grower farmers and produces a variety of agriculture and livestock products such as seed paddy, rice, fruits, vegetables, eggs, yoghurt, curd, etc under its own brand name for the local and export market mainly to West Asia.
CIC’s agri businesses work with a strong commitment towards enhancing farmer incomes, improving the rural economy and contributing towards the development of agriculture in Sri Lanka, he said.
Mr. Samantha Ranatunga
Outlining another domain of the company, he added that the pharmaceuticals sector indicates significant potential for growth with a steady income throughout the year as indicated by the country’s demographics and changing wealth patterns.
CIC’s pharmaceutical manufacturing plant produces generic lifestyle medications used on a continuous basis, including medications for diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and gastric reflux among others.
Given the increasing focus on availability of affordable generic drugs, this investment also supports the national healthcare agenda and saves valuable foreign exchange for the country, he pointed out.