Lanka to achieve self-sufficiency in milk by 2016

by P. Krishnaswamy

The country will achieve self-sufficiency in milk production by 2016 with the current production increasing to one million litres per day which is 50 percent of the national requirement, Secretary to the Ministry of Livestock and Rural Community Development Dr. K.M.T. Kendaragama told a media conference on Thursday.

He said that the Ministry has launched a campaign to promote liquid milk consumption among people. Liquid milk is comparatively much cheaper and of more nutritional value than imported milk powder.

In keeping with the Mahinda Chintana program to make the country self-sufficient in milk, the Cabinet recently decided to purchase all milk produce of dairy farmers.

Consequently MILCO purchases all milk produced, Kendaragama said.

MILCO has installed modern machinery to process and store the milk, he said.

MILCO in collaboration with the Ministry, is widening its liquid milk distribution network throughout the country to address malnutrition, specially among the rural community, he said.

Last year, 84,000 tonnes of milk power was imported at a staggering cost of Rs. 30 billion to meet the remaining 50 percent national requirement, Kendaragama said.

Of the one million litres produced daily MILCO and private companies buy 500,000 litres.

The remaining 500,000 litres is for domestic use among the local community.

Artificial insemination to produce milch cows, the import of high quality milch cows for distribution among farmers and bank loan schemes to help farmers to enhance their production capacity are some of the programs being implemented by the Ministry, Kendaragama said.