Minister stresses need to raise dairy output

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Agriculture and Livestock Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday said that in order to develop the livestock sector, nearly 300,000 dairy farmers should be brought under the wings of one organisational structure.

He said dairy production is a dispersed sector. There is an essential need for organising all these dairy farmers under one organisational structure. The Ministry has established nearly 1,300 dairy farmers societies countrywide.

The Minister made these observations at the National Convention of Sri Lankan Dairy Farmers held at the New Town Hall, Colombo yesterday.

The objective of dairy farmer societies to organise dairy farmers as one group. "If dairy farmers rally round these dairy farmer societies, the existing dairy production can be increased drastically," the Minister said.

He said through these dairy farmer societies, regional markets should be created for fresh milk while taking measures to increase fresh milk consumption. A situation should be created to decide the prices of fresh milk in the local market by the dairy farmers preventing the present practice of deciding prices of fresh milk by purchasers.

"This is the first time that a national convention of dairy farmers was established in Sri Lanka representing all dairy farmer societies. This national convention is a unique opportunity to dairy farmers to discuss their contribution to increase country's dairy production," he said.

The Minister said dairy farmers are the key factor in dairy production. They should entirely decide the ways and means of developing the dairy industry.

Dissanayake said there is a key institutional framework in Sri Lanka to develop the livestock sector. But of the country's total dairy requirement, only 16 per cent is made locally while the balance 84 per cent of milk food requirement is imported spending Rs.9 billion annually.

"However the UPFA Government has identified the livestock sector as one of the key factors of the country's economy. Even the maiden budget of the Government has a separate chapter on livestock sector. In addition to the normal sum allocated on livestock sector, the budget reserved another Rs.50 million to develop the livestock sector," he said.