Liquid milk revolution

Monday, 17 November 2014 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Program to make the country self-sufficient in fresh milk

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Livestock Development Minister Arumugam Thondaman accepting high-bred cows imported from Australia

By Dharman Wickremaratne Many might still remember the milkman bringing fresh milk to households in the morning and ringing his bicycle bell. This was a time when children enjoyed fresh milk. But today it is not the same situation. There is neither fresh milk nor a milkman. We no longer hear his bicycle bell. Everything has been stamped under the jackboot of multinational milk powder corporations and buried in the sands of time. Ministers Basil Rajapaksa and C.B. Ratnayake on a tour of inspection at the Bopattalawa farm owned by the National Livestock Development Board. Liya Abhiman Chairperson Pushpa Rajapaksa is also in the picture They introduced milk powder to Sri Lanka in 1927. At first they were generous enough to distribute powdered milk free through hospitals. It can be likened to multinational corporations selling wheat flour after giving CARE (Cooperative American Relief Everywhere) biscuits free to school children for years.

An employee of a farm in Kurunegala cutting grass

Under the campaign to raise the nutritional level of school children 159,403 girls and boys of 523 schools in the Nuwara Eliya District are benefitting from the program

At the beginning in 1927 the multinational promoters of powdered milk claimed that it was nutritious for children. Thereafter they propagated the view that milk powder was good for lactating mothers. This campaign began with advertisements in colour published in the Sandaresa and Dinamina newspapers in January 1936. Among the well-known brands of baby milk powder at the time were Cow & Gate and Lactogen. Thereafter in 1945 they said milk powder was good for everyone in the family if consumed daily. After independence the Government’s Information Department launched a counter offensive in 1949, stressing the importance of fresh cow’s milk. It stressed the cow’s milk was a complete food item comprising all the vitamins needed for the growth of the human body. But the multinationals succeeded in sabotaging the department’s campaign by bribing certain officials through granting scholarships and other privileges. As a result the multinationals were able to baptise their powdered milk as the food of royal babies in 1965. It is the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ vision, which helped to take a giant step forward in making the country self-sufficient fresh milk. Accordingly special programs were launched to strengthen the dairy farmer and uplift the livestock industry. A number of measures were adopted to encourage fresh milk consumption and sales. This concept of President Mahinda Rajapaksa was activated under the direction of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Under this program the Government’s objective is to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in milk production by 2016. Live Stock, Rural Development and Agricultural Ministries are assisting the Economic Development Ministry to make a success of this program. Steps have been taken to provide the dairy farmer with technical knowledge, grass lands, cattle sheds and marketing facilities for their products. A thousand dairy farms with 25 cows for each of them are being setup island-wide. The farmers are also being provided with low-interest loans for this purpose. Two thousand Friesian and Jersey cows have been imported from Australia for boosting the industry. These animals are adaptable to the hill country and dry zone climates. Further 22,500 more such cows will be imported. The calves born to them through artificial insemination will be sold to dairy farmers at reasonable prices. Already the cows first imported have given birth to 2,200 calves. After the birth of a calf a dairy cow can be milked for 305 days generally. On 14 March 2012, the Government launched in Nuwara Eliya a program to distribute a glass of fresh milk of 150 millilitres free to school children each to raise their nutrition level since the highest cases of malnutrition were reported from that district. Soon steps will be taken to distribute liquid milk through cooperatives at concessionary prices among other residents of the district.

Representatives of dairy farmers’ societies in Nuwara Eliya meeting Ministers Basil Rajapaksa and C.B. Ratnayake to discuss problems The number of registered dairy farmers in Sri Lanka is 238,322. In addition there are nearly 100,000 unregistered small dairy farmers. The annual production of milk is 204 million litres from 251,490 cows. There are also 86,226 buffalos which annually produce 55 million litres of milk. The daily production of milk in the country is 800,000 litres. To make Sri Lanka completely self-sufficient in milk production should be increased 750 million litres anually by 2016 from the present 320 million litres. Meeting this challenge is the task of the Economic Development Ministry under Basil Rajapaksa in accordance with the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ vision.

A dairy farmer’s family taking fresh milk to a collection centre At present only 42% of the milk the country requires is produced locally. The balance 58% is imported. During the period the present Government was in power from 2005 to 2012 the total milk production increased by 128 million litres. It is a 56% increase. The number of cows has also increased by 155,000. If 300,000 more dairy cows can be milked, the country can be made self-sufficient in liquid milk.

Government dairy farm The only obstacle to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in liquid milk is imported powdered milk which has no nutritional value. If powdered milk is necessary it is far more preferable to consume locally produced powdered milk. The program to import dairy cows from Australia and distribute the calves among dairy farmers at concessionary prices should be expedited if the livestock industry is to be strengthened. At the same time adults and children should be educated on the need to consume only locally produced milk and milk products. It will not only safeguard their health but will also save $ 300 million in foreign exchange annually for the country.

A rural milk sales outlet at Nawalapitiya (The writer is a senior journalist who could be reached at [email protected].)

Kenilworth’s Lonach estate operations back on track post heavy rains

Some of the Kenilworth Estates belonging to Sunshine Group’s Watawala Plantations experienced difficulties due to water stagnation caused by thundershowers that continued across the island during the last few weeks. However, due to the timely action of the estate management, operations at the Lonach estate, which was the most affected by the climatic change, are now back on track. Watawala General Manager Plantations Binesh Pananwela said that some damages were caused to a farm and the biogas manufacturing plant located on the Lonach estate due to stagnant rain water blocking drainage systems. With the rains easing somewhat, the Kenilworth estate’s management had taken immediate measures to clear the water blockages, by restoring drainage pipes in the surrounding areas, that had not been cleaned in years. The estate team had also managed to prevent soil erosion by reconstructing retainer walls and bridges, allowing estate operations as well as the day-to-day functions of the surrounding areas to come back to normal. The General Manager said that the farm and biogas plant have been repaired and functioning as usual. The plantation had taken every step to ensure that their employees were unharmed by the adverse conditions adding that the plantation had in the past put in place several measures to uplift the lives of their estate employees. He said that further steps have been taken by Watawala Plantations to ensure that there was a regular supply of clean drinking water not only in the homes of their employees, but also right up to the Ginigathhena area. “The cleanliness and safety levels of the drinking water supplied by Watawala, has been certified by the National Water Supply & Drainage Board,” says Binesh Pananwela.