The Fisheries Processed Products Factory at the Walpita Agriculture Training Centre was inaugurated on March 14, 2023. Initiated by the Governor of the Western Province, Air Force Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, the project aims to benefit consumers, the fishing community and the government. The programme involves employing and training members of the community in the area, generating income for local fishermen, reducing food wastage and providing affordable processed fisheries products. The facility is currently focused on producing canned fish and plans to expand its product range in the future. Almost one and half years in the making, the programme was initially set to launch six months ago, however, increased costs and delays in the importing of equipment due to COVID and import restrictions delayed the project’s launch date. The canned fish product will soon be made available to the public under the “Mihilak” brand name.

 “This idea came to me some time back, when there was a situation where the gazetted price for a tin of fish was at Rs. 100. The consumer however didn’t get their goods for this price. As we have not been producing our own goods, we simply cannot exercise any influence on pricing or quality. The price was fluctuating,” Goonetileke explained the inspiration behind the project.

 As a solution to the pressing needs brought about by import restrictions and economic difficulties, the Western Province Governor was of the view that this project could be initiated as a model for others to follow.

 “I felt that we could do a project that was not only beneficial to the consumer but also the government. My hope was that this project could also become a training facility for any entrepreneur who wishes to start a similar production on their own,” he said.

 “The idea here is to give a very good quality product to the consumer. As you may have seen there’s a lot of good quality fresh fish that goes into the tin. We haven’t decided on the price yet, but we will make sure it will be much lower than what is currently available in the market,” he added.

 The project will also be serving as a training centre for entrepreneurs who wish to start similar businesses. The facility employs several villagers who have sought new opportunities in the trade. It also addresses the issue of food wastage as the fishermen who have previously had to discard portions of their daily catch, can now profit from this project as well.   “This brings a bit of profit to the government as well. We are not a burden to the government. We are earning some money through this project. So it’s a project which has multiple benefits,” Goonetileke said.
 Asked if other provinces have followed suit, Goonetileke said he wishes to share their success once they’ve perfected their model. “The best thing is to first show by example. When the others see that this is functioning well, I hope that they will model after our system. We first wanted to perfect our project, and I believe there’s a little bit more to go,” he said.

 The Total Project Cost for the initiative was Rs. 195 million (including Rs. 105 million in assets). The Annual Forecasted revenue for the project at full production is Rs. 435 million. The expected annual production capacity is 750,000 canned fish products. The facility currently employs 22 staff members who earn a salary as they are not considered government workers. Developed as a model to promote self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on imported foods, this initiative can be implemented anywhere in the country, the Governor said.