Fonterra’s Rs. 2 bln investment creates sustainable impact across Sri Lanka
View(s):Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka is seeing sustainable returns from its 10- year plan to build a thriving dairy industry and improve access to locally-made dairy products.
Fonterra has installed water sanitation facilities across all their dairy communities as part of its Grass Roots Fund programme.
In a media release, the dairy co-operative behind Anchor said it recently surpassed the Rs. 2 billion investment-mark, which has contributed to a strong and sustainable wave of change. It has done this through upskilling thousands in the industry and introducing game-changing supply chain innovations to deliver high-quality nutrition to Sri Lankans.
The latest initiatives, which are part of Fonterra’s decade-long Rs. 10 billion commitment, include training and education for thousands of farmers, expanded processing capacity for local dairy products, and infrastructure development projects that have so far touched the lives of more than tens of thousands of people in Fonterra’s dairy communities, the release said.
Managing Director of Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka and the Indian Subcontinent, Sunil Sethi, said that the dairy co-operative is focused on enabling the country’s dairy industry to better meet national nutritional requirements and become an active contributor to the economy.
“With the local dairy industry meeting just 30 per cent of current consumer demand, the industry has immense potential for growth. Realising this potential, our accelerated development efforts aim to support small-scale dairy farmers to build and maintain profitable and sustainable farm businesses,” said Mr. Sethi.
One such project is Fonterra’s Rs. 117 million Demonstration and Training Farm in Pannala – a first-of-its-kind private sector initiative established last year to share dairy best practices in farm management.
In its first year of operation, the facility reached more than 3,500 dairy farmers, veterinarians, Livestock Development Instructors (LDIs), and university students through its training and education programmes.
“Setting up suitable infrastructure for storage and transportation is vital in safeguarding the quality of our farmers’ milk for the long-term. For that reason, we’ve invested in state-of-the-art milk chilling centres in our dairy communities and equipped them with advanced testing equipment,” said Mr. Sethi.