Under national program to increase local dairy production:

52 Dairy Farmer Villages set up last year
 

BY UDITHA Kumarasinghe

THE Agriculture and Livestock Ministry has set up 52 Dairy Farmer Villages throughout the country last year under the national level program, implemented by the Ministry to establish 1000 Dairy Farmer Villages countrywide to socio-economically empower the large number of dairy farmers and increase the local dairy production.

Rs. 20 million has been spent to set up these dairy farmer villages covering districts which come under the purview of Western, Central, North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-East provinces.

Each dairy farmer village has benefitted to nearly 20 dairy farmer families, a Ministry spokesman told the Daily News yesterday.

Under this national plan the Ministry has already formulated plans to set up 150 dairy farmer villages during this year covering the entire country. A farmer society will be set up affiliated to each dairy farmer village to properly organise dairy farmers, he said.

Meanwhile, a special fund will also be set up in each dairy farmer village which will be handled and maintained by dairy farmers from their own money. In addition, the Ministry will provide grass cutters, water pumps and water tanks to dairy farmers.

He said milk sales outlets, milk distribution centres and veterinary service centres will also be established based on these dairy farmer villages. The National Livestock Development Board has made arrangements to distribute 350 hybrid cattle varieties among dairy farmers. Of them 200 will be provided to these dairy villages.

"A sum of Rs. 11,000 million is spent annually to import milk powder. At present only 6 per cent of country's milk production is made locally. Due to lack of attention focused, the country's dairy production is at a very low ebb while the medical reports have indicated that nearly 25 per cent of rural children are suffering from malnutrition".

"Therefore the Ministry through this novel concept intends to produce nearly 55 per cent of the country's dairy requirement locally within next four years.