US$ 14 mn fund to double milk production in Sri Lanka
While the demand for milk is on the rise at 13 per cent per annum in Sri Lanka, there is shortage of processes and facilities in place to meet the demand.
For this purpose the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing US$ 14 million (approximately Rs. 2 billion) to Sri Lanka through a new Market-Oriented Dairy (MOD) project which would help the government to double dairy production.
This project was launched in Colombo on Thursday by the USDA together with International Executive Service Corps (IESC) and the Government.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, chief guest at the event, said that on average only four litres of milk is produced per day by a cow. “We want to double the number to 10 litres per day through the project,” he added.
He noted that similar to developments in other sectors, the dairy industry, lifestyle of farmers and rural economy must also progress while increasing the income of the farmers.
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Atul Keshap stated, “This is the largest US funded dairy project in Sri Lanka. The fund is to help increase dairy production and modernize processing.” The MOD project will focus on commercial sustainability of the dairy sector addressing access to availability of quality and safety of dairy products, he added.
Mr. Keshap said that the project will take place in Northern, North Western, North Central, Eastern, Central and Uva provinces and benefit more than 15,000 small and medium scale farmers. The project will also help small scale farmers strengthen livestock management capacity and adherence to quality and hygiene best practices while expanding access to veterinary services.
MOD Project Director, Matthew Krause pointed out that there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of dairy farming in Sri Lanka. “The demand continues to grow at 13 per cent per annum in Sri Lanka,” he said while elaborating that correct farming practices can produce good quality and more quantity of milk to cater to market demand and needs. By improving the productivity and focusing on less cows with more milk, production can double.
MOD will partner with dairy processes to ensure long term sustainability and transfer knowledge to provision training and technical assistance along with facilitation of financing and introducing new technologies. “We will upgrade farmers’ animal husbandry knowledge, hygienic practices and business management skills through robust extension and training, utilizing the government and private sector extensions,” Mr. Krause noted.
The project will partner with banks and financial institutions to establish dairy investment funds and facilitate loans for upgrading farms, collection centers and processing capabilities while bringing IT into the dairy sector.
| Importing heifers | |
| The Ministry of Rural Economy has plans to import 15,000 pregnant heifers in six stages, this year, and in a May 3 public notice invited investors interested in dairy production. “Under the dairy cows’ importation project for developing commercial dairy entrepreneurs for expanding the local dairy industry, 5,000 pregnant dairy heifers were imported successfully in 2017. Another 15,000 pregnant heifers are planned to be imported by the Ministry of Rural Economy in six stages,” the notice said. |