6 October 2016 12:00 am Views - 2230
Extending its commitment to uplifting the lives of surrounding communities in its areas of operations, the Crysbro group has gathered over 250 families within its fold as ‘outgrower partners’, who are independent contract breeders raising chickens on behalf of the group.
Encouraging them further in their endeavours, the Crysbro group held a series of award ceremonies during August and September this year, to recognize and reward its outstanding outgrower partners in the Central, North-Central and Uva Provinces. These programmes resulted in an enthusiastic response from participants at the awards ceremonies, which were graced by Crysbro Chairman/Managing Director Mohamed Imtiaz, COO Eshantha Pieris, Group HR and Administration Manager Ranjana Mahindasiri, organising committee head, as well as divisional senior managers and executives from the Crysbro head office.
The winners of the first prize for best growers were W.P. Premarathna from the Central Province, Sunil De Silva from Uva Province and M.G. Indrajith from the North-Central Province, who were awarded fully-paid tours to Dambadiwa for their whole family.
Winning the second prize for best growers, Ananda Raj, H.M. Piyasena and Kumarasinghe Banda were rewarded with 24” LED television sets, while winners of the third prize, Thilak Suriyaarachchi, P.M. Punchimanike and Sumudu Priyanganee received fully-paid family vacations to destinations within Sri Lanka. The other winners received cash prizes in addition to tokens of appreciation.
The outgrower partner initiative has been part of Crysbro’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme encompassing all areas of its operations. Over the years, the group has assisted its outgrower partners by providing them with chicks, poultry feed, technological inputs and advice on breeding, in addition to purchasing their fully-grown chicken at guaranteed prices. This has resulted in uplifting the living standards of over 1000 families, who have become successful entrepreneurs and outstanding members of their communities, many of whom have constructed their homes and purchased vehicles, as a result of joining Crysbro’s outgrower partner initiative.
In the words of Christopher, an enthusiastic and grateful participant at the awards ceremony held in Mahiyanganaya in the Uva Province, “I was poor when I joined Crysbro as an outgrower. Today I have my own vehicles for my personal use as well as for my cultivation activities. I have also built a new home. All these were possible from the income I earned from Crysbro. I am very happy and will not leave Crysbro.”
Equally enthusiastic was Sujatha Kumari from the Central Province: “I started business with Crysbro at an elementary level. Today I know the business very well and I am in a strong position in terms of money as well as business acumen. I sincerely thank the management of Crysbro.”
The Crysbro group is Sri Lanka’s only fully-integrated chicken producer that owns and operates every single stage in its production process, from producing its own feed, right until delivery of its farm fresh chicken. Crysbro is also the only poultry producer in Sri Lanka to have received the ISO 14001 environment safety certification and the British Retail Consortium Certification. In addition, the group is the recipient of numerous international and Sri Lankan standards certifications such as ISO 9001:2008, ISO 22000:2005, ISO 14001:2004, BRC and Halal.