Local milk production increases
Ishara Mudugamuwa
The local milk production has increased by 30 percent this year and
it is a big boost to the local economy, said Livestock Development
Ministry Secretary Sunimal Senaratne at the World School Milk Day
celebrations held recently at Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo.
“Under the Mahinda Chinthanaya policy we hope to increase local milk
production by 50 percent before the year 2015. The Government policy is
to increase local milk production. It had to import 60,000 MT of Milk
powder in 2007, 2008 and this year at a cost of Rs. 30 billion. If we
can save this amount of money we can use them for the country’s
development,” he said.
“The Government has introduced several programs to increase local
milk production. President Mahinda Rajapaksa always gives relief to
dairy farmers. In 2007 dairy farmers could get only Rs.25 for a litre of
milk. But now they can get Rs. 40 for a litre.
The Ministry gave animals for rearing and we have also established
Dairy Farmer Committees in the Eastern Province. We have opened two new
milk chilling centres in the Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts under
the patronage of Livestock Development Minister, C.B.Rathnayake. These
chilling centres will help uplift the living standards of 800 resettled
dairy farmer families in the Eastern Province.
They are expected to collect 2,500 litres of milk from the Moraweva
chilling centre and 2,000 litres from the Vakarai chilling centre and we
have plans to further increase production, ” he added. |