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| Monday, 17 May 2004 |
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'Dairy industry can help boost rural economy' by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy South Group Correspondent Steps will be taken to boost local production and encourage dairy farming and livestock breeding. Efforts should be also taken to bring down the cost of production and not to be totally dependent on imports of what could be produced locally, said the Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He made these observations when he addressed the inaugural sessions of the 56th Annual Convention and the Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association held at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa in Peradeniya. Minister Dissanayke said in the past we saw a series halting of production or closure of industries like the Pugoda Textiles, Thulhiriya Textiles, Kantale Sugar Factory, Hingurana Sugar Factory, Valaichenai paper Factory and Kankesanturai Cement and most of these were done by the previous regime which had a drastic effect on local production. When any item is not produced locally, we are compelled to depend on imports for it. We have also witnessed that a number of small industries have been closed and even there has been a rampant filling of paddy fields which are detrimental to the interests of the nation. These will result in unemployment and shortage of the respective products. Can these be called positive steps. He said the overheads of the State sector are high and thereby the production costs go up. Costs must be cut down if we are to survive as a profit oriented organisation. The previous government embarked on a programme of privatisation to cut down these losses. But some of them will have to reviewed. The minister assured that there will be no politicisation of the Government Department under him though as a politician he has to oversee the work of the department and guide them for salutary results. He said that the country has been flooded with mobile phones, land phones and even three-wheelers and these are things we witnessed after 1977 but there has been hardly any improvement in the social lives of the rural masses who are compelled to sweat and toil the same way. The farmer has been leading a hard life and his profits have fallen and the costs have gone up. At a juncture like this he feels that it is better to take his child away from traditional farming and find employment as a security guard in garment factory. President of the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association, Dr. (Mrs) H. M. S. B. Herath said that they are very fortunate to be able to listen to a young minister with a new vision towards the uplift of the rural community. This will be a big boost to the livestock industry in our country. Indian High Commissioner Nirupam Sen is no stranger to this country. Our friendship with India is a long standing one. India has helped agriculture sector. We have imported livestock from India and have got expert advice from India in the past. Our professionals have got several opportunities to get acquainted with the world famous Anand Dairy Cooperative System, the Kerala Livestock Development Board and Indian Veterinary Research Institute are a few examples. The Indo-Sri Lanka trade agreement helps to further strengthen our economic ties. Dr. (Mrs) Herath said the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association the then Ceylon Veterinary Association was established in 1940 with its centre of activity in Colombo. Dr. R. T. Little, a British veterinarian was the first President of the association and Dr. Hector C. Perera was the first secretary whose name is still remembered as a doyen of the profession. She said that the association obtained membership in Commonwealth Veterinary Association in 1970/71 and since then the members have been enjoying the benefits under the CVA study fund and CVA book programme. The association has initiated programmes to improve the relationship between the profession and the public and has conducted seminars and campaigns against communicable diseases from animals to man like Rabies, Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) etc. Striking a serious note Dr. Mrs. Herath said that the veterinary profession is in a very critical situation today. Our clients, the farmers are struggling to maintain profitability of their enterprises. And at the same time our young veterinary professionals, more than 400 in number are without a permanent income and are struggling to survive. She said as regards the dairy industry it is reported that the domestic production of daily milk is 20 percent of the total requirement of the country. As veterinary professionals we are totally disappointed with this situation. The major constraints leading to this crisis is the high cost of cattle feed, low price for milk and poor marketing systems. Lack of labour or the high cost of labour also contributes to the high cost of production which in turn adversely affects the profit margins of the dairy farmer. There is an urgent need to uplift the dairy industry to make available an adequate supply of liquid milk especially among the rural children to curb mal-nutrition. She said that we may have to exploit opportunities for livestock development and poverty alleviation through promotion of safe and efficient production, procession and marketing of livestock products. It is vital to enhance skills and capacity building in the smallholders and make them feel that they are part and parcel of the small-scale processing systems. We have planned to organise the smallholders also to develop and disseminate manufacturing guidelines and information systems for producer organisations and co-operatives. She further said as the dairy sector have a tremendous potential to increase its contribution to economic growth, particularly the development of the rural economy. It is therefore necessary to encourage private sector participation to invest in the livestock industry at regional level. The poultry industry has made significant progress in recent years due to the active participation of the private sector. The country's economy through livestock, mainly depends on large-scale and modern chicken processing factories and advanced breeding farms. |
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