Dairy resource centres soon islandwide

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in association with the Ministry of Livestock Development (MOLD) is planning to set up dairy resource centres (DRC) as an intermediary market for exchange of milch cows among dairy farmers with the aim of increasing liquid milk production in the country.

Under the project it is expected to set up 50 DRCs islandwide to facilitate farmers to sell their excess animals and purchase good quality milch cows.

The first DRC will be opened at Meevanapalana in the Kalutara district in the near future.

Ten other DRCs will also be opened within the next two months at different locations in the country.

According to Assistant Governor, CBSL, W.M. Karunaratne, the centres will play an intermediary role in buying, collecting milch animals from the farmers and selling them to needy farmers at the market price.

The centres will earn a reasonable profit out of the transaction, and keep the animals under the supervision of veterinary officials in the area.

To set up such a centre, adequate space with basic facilities such as water and fodder, would be needed and the most important requirement would be the ability to look after the animals at the centre until a buyer is found.

According to Karunaratne, one of the constraints faced by dairy farmers is the difficulty in purchasing good quality milch cows at a reasonable price while hundreds of milch cows are killed daily at slaughter houses. Slaughtering milch animals for flesh is a serious issue that needs to be addressed because it hampers the process of enhancement of liquid milk production in the country.

The number of milching cows has remained stagnant over the years. One of the main reasons for this is the selling of milching cows to slaughter houses by the owners for lack of space in sheds. Farmers who need to purchase milch cows complain that good quality animals are not available at a reasonable price.

With the establishment of DRCs islandwide cattle owners would not need to sell them for slaughtering, instead they could sell them to the nearby centre. When selling a cow for milking purposes, the price is always higher than the price offered for the same animal by the slaughter house.

DRCs will solve many issues in the industry and help increase liquid milk production in the country. According to MOLD only 30 - 35 percent of milk requirement is produced locally.

The balance is imported in the form of milk powder for which the Government spends around Rs. 20 billion per year.

In line with the Government policy directives towards increasing liquid milk production alternative plans are underway to support dairy farmers. With the liberation of pasture lands in the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, avenues have been opened to develop the dairy industry.

CBSL is promoting dairy farming among farmers under intensive methods adopting best animal husbandry practices, and loan facilities for farmers to construct cattle sheds, purchasing milch cows and equipment are also made available under the Agro Livestock Development Loan Scheme implemented by the CBSL.

If the farmers adopt intensive methods and best practices under the guidance of Veterinary officials, milk production could be increased remarkably.

The country has scope and potential to be self-sufficient in milk within five to six years, Karunaratne said. Dairy farming will help alleviate poverty in the rural areas.

SG