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Anlene Malt from New Zealand Milk
Sri Lanka became the launching pad for New Zealand Milk to market its new product, "Anlene Malt", at a launch ceremony in Colombo last week.

The Sri Lankan subsidiary of the Anchor milk producer said this is the first time New Zealand Milk is introducing a malted milk variety with Sri Lanka being chosen as the country to launch it.

New Zealand Milk Lanka Ltd has a variety of milk powder serving different purposes such as low fat, full cream, but with the common objective of enhancing the health and well-being of citizens in Sri Lanka, company officials said.

This new malted milk powder will be available in 400g packets from next week. (TM)

Boosting productivity in tea sector
Manila - A $30 million equivalent loan package approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week would boost productivity of the tea sector in Sri Lanka as well as improve living and working conditions for 265,000 plantation workers.

The Plantation Development Project aims to make the sector, one of the largest in terms of exports and number of employed, more profitable and self-sustainable through improved productivity, diversification and marketing initiatives. It will establish a plantation fund to invest in equity and quasi-equity instruments as an alternative to collateral-based lending. The project also supports ongoing policy reforms where ownership of regional plantation companies (RPCs) has been privatised, according to an ADB statement.

The programmes will empower workers by strengthening their institutions and offering training in technical and life skills to reduce ethnic tensions and help them integrate into the mainstream of society. The project will replant and infill 1,750 hectares (ha) and 2,375 ha of tea, replant 3,750 ha of rubber and plant 2,500 ha of oil palm and 10,000 ha of forest plantations. It will also re-roof 11,000 line rooms and provide housing loans to 6,000 poor estate workers as well as welfare facilities and amenities in the workplace. The project covers 15 districts where RPCs are located.

The project will address issues such as high production costs and low profitability, due to weak management that is a legacy of nationalisation. Excessive regulations and restrictions on direct exports of tea have set back the sector to produce only primary commodities rather than diversifying to broaden its profit base. A labour shortage looms due to migration and voluntary youth unemployment stemming from poor living and working conditions, the statement added.

Textile training centre offers local testing
By Harinda Vidanage
The Textile Training and Services Centre has modernised its facilities and services to provide garment manufacturers the chance to do most of their testing locally.
This has given the industry a boost with shorter lead times and competitive prices for testing, a spokesman said.

Earlier garment manufacturers had to send all their fabrics to foreign labs to be tested.

The centre's laboratory has won recognition from leading international retail chains like BHS and TESCO and negotiations are on to gain certification from the next retail chain as well, the spokesman said. The Textile Training and Services Centre has become one of the vital links in the textile and garment industry in countering the effects of global recession, he said.

The centre was established in 1984 with the assistance of United Nations development support organisations such as the UNDP and UNIDO to provide services to the textile industry.

Its laboratory has been accredited with ISO 17025 by SWEDAC, the Swedish Accreditation Board.

This achievement has made it possible to carry out 14 identified ISO tests within the facility which are in frequent demand in the export apparel industry, the spokesman said.

Since SWEDAC is connected to other global accreditation bodies through multilateral agreements, the centre's accreditations are recognised universally.

Japanese assistance to the laboratory during a five-year period has had a tremendous impact on the upgrading of the facility, the spokesman said.

Many staff members are overseas-trained specialists whose competence is frequently tested, he said.

The centre provides other services as well with two types of training programmes - standard and customised.

It also offers a Diploma in Textile technology, a 15-month course especially for school leavers.

Solution for drought-stricken farmers
Wellawaya - Demata Ath Ara is a village almost without water. More than one hundred and fifty farmer families live in this village whose sustenance depends on the yield of crops like groundnut, peas and typical dry zone vegetables. The settlement's only water source, a small muddy tank called Dambe Wewa, is so inadequate that villagers have to walk more than five kilometres to fetch a pot of water.

The rain-dependent farming collapses during periods of prolonged drought, leaving the villagers with no option but to find casual work in nearby townships. Last year's severe drought forced villagers to walk as far as eight kilometres up to Handapanagala Wewa in search of water.

The plight of the Demata Atha Ara villagers was first brought to light last October, when the Suntel sports club was distributing dry rations in the drought-affected areas. They realised that the best support they could offer to the area would be to provide them with a permanent source of water.

Suntel, a unit of Sweden's Telia, immediately took steps to build two wells for the villagers. This project took six months to complete. The ceremony to inaugurate the tube wells took place recently with much celebration by the villagers. A team of Suntel executives, led by Managing Director Hugo Cederschiold, went all the way from Colombo to take part in the festivities.

A.D. Martin, 58, a pioneer settler of Demata Ath Ara said: "In the 30-year history of this village, this is the first time that a tube well has been constructed.

This will help more than 50 families of the area." Pointing at the happy children who flocked around the tube well, he said: "They are happy because water is closer to them now."

D.K. Alis, a mother of three, was overjoyed when Suntel inaugurated the tube wells. Earlier her children had to go to far away places to bring water in the morning but now they could attend school without any problems.

"I want to thank Suntel for this act of great kindness and generosity," she said.

At the opening ceremony Cederschiold addressed the villagers in Sinhalese: "We heard of your plight and the devastation caused by the drought last year and felt that the best long term solution for your future would be the installation of tube wells. Today we are very proud indeed to have played a part in the development of your village."

The management and maintenance of the tube wells were handed over to the Pradeshiya Sabha of Wellawaya. Kapila Jayasekara, Divisional Secretary, Wellawaya said: "It is heartening indeed that companies like Suntel are coming forward to help in the development of the country, not just in areas where they are present.

The annual grant of Rs. 1.2 mn for the division is not even enough to maintain roads in the area and even though Suntel is not present here the company still volunteered to build the wells."

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