By Sandun A Jayasekera  

Cabinet approval has been granted on Monday to import 4,200 heads of cattle and lease out 2,771 acres to five private companies to grow grass as feeder for the imported cattle at a cost of Rs. eight billion, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said.  

He told the weekly post cabinet virtual news briefing that four local investors and one foreign investor had come forward to set up dairy farms using the barren and unproductive lands obtained from the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) and Livestock Development Board (LDB) on long lease basis.  

“We spend US$ 365 million (Rs. 7,300 million) to import milk powder annually as we produce only 40% of the national requirement of milk powder in the country. Our target is to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in fresh milk by 2024 under the declared policy of the SLPP government, ‘The Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour,” he added.