JICA support to boost livestock development in N-E

ASSISTANCE: Japanese Government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is supporting a training programme and follow up assistance to increase the management capability of livestock farmers in the North-East.

The purpose of JICA support is to contribute for improving the living standard of poverty affected livestock farmers who are in the process of re-settling under the post conflict reconstruction programme.

JICA will support this training programme scheduled to continue for three years from 2006, to offer a week-long residential training course for almost 80 farmers a time nominated by veterinary surgeons in NE and held almost once a month.

The first three training courses were already completed from January to March 2006. A total of 81 participants nominated by veterinary surgeons in Trincomalee and Ampara districts completed those three training courses (Sinhala medium) held in Animal Husbandry Training Centre in Seepppukulama, Anuradhapura.

JICA support includes the total cost of training including the course materials, study tour to model farmers, provision of required training equipment to Seepukulama training centre for increasing the quality of training. JICA also provided seven bull calves to farmer groups after completion of training for sustainable development of their dairy farming. The value of JICA support for all of them is around Rs one million.

Thirty participants have been selected for this training from Mullativu District to undergo training in Tamil.

As it was for previously held three training courses, JICA provided required training equipment (worth almost Rs. one million) to the training centre in Poonthotam, Vavuniya in March, to conduct series of training courses from the fourth course. Resource persons of the training are veterinary surgeons from NE and some of them are JICA extraining participants who have completed animal husbandry related trainings in Japan.