Milk production in A’pura exceeds 3 million litres a month

Nimal WIJESINGHE Anuradhapura Additional District Group Corr.

The milk production in the Anruadhapura district reached 3 million litres a month.

According to statistics of the Provincial Animal Production and Health authorities, the Anuradhapura district has ben placed as the second largest milk producing district in the country.

The milk production programme being implemented in the district has achieved highly encouraging results.

Anuradhapura District Veterinary Officer K.M.U. Amarasinghe told Daily News that the Livestock Development Ministry will import 30,000 such animals for distribution among milk farmers and crossing to remedy the dearth of qualitative and high bred cattle. According to him the cattle keeping and dairy farming industry were quite different from each other.

“Most farmers used to release their cattle in the morning to roam about for self sustenance and in the evening driven in to an open air cattle shed. Most of the animals are being sold for meat and milking is not handled properly.

This pattern of animal husbandry and livestock farming should have to be done away with to optimise the milk production. There are 23 milk farmer societies in the district and majority of them are not functioning well.

The farmers who rear few animals contribute more to the district’s cows milk production. They need to be facilitated to upgrade their dairy farming,” he said.

The issue of improving the dairy industry in Anuradhapura was discussed at length at the Anuradhapura District Agriculture Committee meeting recently.

It was proposed to establish “Animal Husbandry Villages” giving precedence to milk farmers.

The veterinary officials and divisional secretaries stressed that simultaneously all tank beds encroached by farmers for cultivation and for habitations should be freed for feeding the animals.

The bank officials informed the DAC that bank loans up to Rs. 4,00,000 were being extended by the State banks on the guidance of Central Bank for promoting scientific dairy farming industry.