The Government has planned two projects for the development of large farms with more than 500 dairy cows to increase the liquid milk production in Sri Lanka, said Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera addressing the 19th session of the CGRFN meeting at UNFAO Rome, Italy on Tuesday (25).
Agriculture Minister Amaraweera said that the present Government’s aim is to increase the liquid milk production in Sri Lanka to 50 percent by 2030, and the Agriculture Ministry and the Animal Production and Health Department have started many projects to overcome that challenge.
Accordingly, the Agriculture Minister said that the Government has planned two projects with Government intervention for the development of large farms with more than 500 dairy cows.
Italy’s Animal Production and Health Department Director General Tanawat Tenzin met Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and the Minister expressed these views while addressing a discussion held with Tanawat Tenzin and other officials.
The Agriculture Minister participating in the 19th session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFN), which is being held in Rome these days, expressed these views at a briefing held at the Animal Production and Health Department on Tuesday.
The minister further said, “At present, Sri Lanka’s milk production is at a level of 35-40 percent. Our Government’s target is to produce 50 percent of the liquid milk production required by Sri Lanka by 2030 in our country.
“At present, about 60 percent of the milk required by our country is obtained from imported milk powder. But in order to eliminate the malnutrition of the people of the country, the consumption of liquid milk should be increased in the country. But it must be said that there has been no change in liquid milk consumption in our country.
“It has been decided to implement two project proposals for the development of large-scale farms with more than 500 milk cows in order to increase the production of liquid milk in our country. Also, with the support of the Indian Government, the Government has taken measures to start a new technology as well as an exchange programme for dairy cows. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has discussed with the Indian Government to increase the dairy industry in this country with a broad vision. Accordingly, I believe that Sri Lanka’s dairy industry will be able to reach its goal by 2030.
The Government aims to implement projects in public-private partnership with dairy processing companies by introducing new techniques to attract young people to the dairy sector”.
The Government of Sri Lanka has requested the Italian Government to provide financial and technical support for the development of the local dairy sector. The Minister also mentioned that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has also expressed support for that.