2 March 2016 12:00 am Views - 4302
Nestlé, Sri Lanka’s largest private sector collector of fresh milk, has contributed Rs. 3.6 billion to almost 20,000 local farmers as payment for fresh milk, to manufacture its products like Nespray, Milo and Milkmaid.
Because Sri Lanka’s dairy industry is still an emerging one, where farmers do not produce enough milkto meet total market demand, Nestlé has been working closely with the authorities since the early 1980’s to help develop it. The company hopes to not only increase the supply and quality of milk but also provide local farmers a livelihood that is sustainable.
The company holds regular training and development programmes for farmers on a range of technical topics and best practices, including cattle feeding and breeding and animal health and farm management. In addition to promoting artificial insemination for breeding high-yield cows, it also provides vital equipment and medicine, and financial assistance to develop dairy farms.
“Helping Sri Lankan farmers produce more milk of high quality has been close to our hearts for more than 30 years,” said Shivani Hegde, Nestlé Lanka’s Managing Director. “It is part of our ‘Creating Shared Value’ approach, where we believe that our business activities must also have a positive impact on the local community. We are committed to providing our Sri Lankan consumers a portfolio of high quality products with the goodness of local fresh milk, and to contribute to the rural economy.” This year, the company plans to expand its milk procurement network in the North and develop the potential of the region, which accounts for 22 percent of the country’s cattle.
It has opened a new milk chilling centre in the North-Eastern town of Vaddakkachchi, which will help farmers keep their milk fresh at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Previously, facilities for storing fresh milk in the area were inadequate; resulting in low quality and wastage.
Ariyputhiran Krishnaseelan, a dairy farmer from Vaddakkachchi, is optimistic that the new facility will help revive the town’s dairy industry. “This is a big occasion for us as it is the first milk chilling centre in our town. We usually have a lot of excess milk, even after using it in our own homes and selling it to our neighbours and others in the community. I am thankful that this facility will now help us sell this milk and earn a larger income. This will greatly benefit our
farming community.”
Each Nestlé chilling centre is equipped with testing equipment and farmers are paid for the quality of milk they provide – the higher the quality, the higher the price they receive. This encourages them to produce more milk of better quality.
The chilling centre was iinaugurated by Additional Government Agent for the Kilinochchi district, S. Sathyaseelan, 573 Brigade Commander for the Kilinochchi district, Colonel Kithsiri Liyanage, and Managing Director for Nestlé Lanka,
Shivani Hegde.