NDDB, Amul and Cargills to form joint venture company
To replicate India’s success story in dairy, a joint venture company will be formed in Sri Lanka, consisting of two leading Indian institutions – the National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB) and the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), better known as Amul.
They will partner with Cargills (Ceylon) PLC from Sri Lanka. The objectives of the joint venture company will include improving productivity of the dairy system, enabling the use of modern technology, equipment and best practices in dairy and associated sectors, achieving digitalization in the dairy sector, improving the productivity of fodder/pasture cultivation and the cattle feed industry, improving animal health through accessible veterinary care practices.
It is envisaged that the project will increase Sri Lanka’s national milk production by 53% in 5 years, and double milk production (over 129% increase) in 10 years from its commencement. Over 200,000 farmers and entrepreneurs are expected to benefit from this project.
As part of the project, animals of high genetic merit will be distributed among smallholder farmers across Sri Lanka, which will increase yields of local dairy farmers. Smallholder dairy farmers will also benefit from access to semen doses, fodder and silage, training programs and knowledge sharing, vaccines, and food supplements.
The partnership will lead Sri Lanka towards self-sufficiency in milk production, reduce the country’s foreign exchange outflows on dairy imports, improve availability of milk for consumers, and uplift smallholder dairy farmers across Sri Lanka by driving income back to the local community.
Under the vision of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in its food requirements, the Government of Sri Lanka had partnered with the Government of India to support a national endeavor to improve milk production in the country. Only about 40% of the milk requirement is met by domestic production. Milk product imports have led to an outflow of over USD 300 million in foreign exchange from the country every year, on average, during the last 10 years. India is the largest producer of milk in the world.
India’s success story in milk production started in the 1950s under the leadership of Dr. Verghese Kurien who is known as the ‘milkman of India’, with regulatory support from the Indian Government. India’s success in transforming its dairy industry is based on the key principle of ensuring the farmer receives the maximum income, with over 75% of the consumer price of a product going to the farmer, driving income back to the rural community.
A comparison of milk availability in India and Sri Lanka shows that Sri Lanka lags behind considerably. Sri Lanka’s milk availability per capita is only 150 grams/day compared to 444 grams/day in India.
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