Crysbro leads charge in uplifting rural economy by creating new employment opportunities

Employees of the Crysbro Kantale Suriyapura farm

Affirming its continued commitment to empowering the rural economy and its dependents, Sri Lanka’s largest and leading poultry producer Crysbro continues to create fresh  employment opportunities through its numerous factories and farms in operation throughout the island – particularly in the Eastern Province.

The locales in which Crysbro has invested in have all been affected by the civil war or extended periods of droughts, making it difficult for agricultural practices or animal husbandry operations to take root – opening the population here to deep economic misfortune. 

Crysbro’s operations in poultry farming and large-scale seed paddy and maize cultivation has incited lasting positive change in these communities by creating thousands of employment opportunities to support and secure the livelihoods of many residing here. Ultimately, these operations have contributed greatly to mitigating rural poverty, rampant in the region.

“We are proud to state that our CSR projects have been in operation for nearly a decade and have focused primarily on the three main tenets of fostering rural employment opportunities, creating new entrepreneurs in these regions and improving living standards in these communities. By selected low-infrastructure villages such as Kantale Suriyapura to invest in, we are realising our over-arching ambition to not only benefit the rural economy but to gear these communities to contribute to the country’s economy as well,” commented Crysbro Senior Marketing Manager Amores Sellar. 

Kantale Suriyapura, a village inhabited by people directly and deeply affected by the 30-year long civil war, has made great strides economically and socially with Crysbro’s many initiatives and investment in the region. The company has successfully worked towards securing the livelihoods of over 500 families in this village. Additionally, Crysbro’s seed paddy and maize cultivation operations, is so far benefitting over 10,000 farming families in Mahiyanganaya, Moneragala and Anuradhapura districts.

As a major player in this swiftly progressing industry, Crysbro has made a significant contribution to rural economic and social empowerment through its flagship CSR projects: Diri Saviya, Praja Aruna, Sisu Diriya, Suwa Shakthi and Haritha Sathkara. 

By dealing directly with rural farmers and poultry farm owners, Crysbro has incited significant communal and economic transformation in rural regions. Under Crysbro’s ‘Diri Saviya’ program, the operations and lives of 1,200 maize and rice farmers as well as 250 poultry smallholders have been secured. ‘Praja Aruna’ has initiated the construction of 34 new houses for the under-privileged and renovated 80 houses.

‘Sisu Diriya’, another of the company’s CSR pillars, has taken the initiative to provide books to more than 6000 school children and scholarships to students completing their university or vocational education. ‘Haritha Sathkara’ has seen Crysbro overlooking the planting of 5,000 saplings in major areas of the island. ‘Suwa Shakthi’, which focuses on health and wellbeing, has so far conducted 20 health camps and offered free medical checkups and medicine to all of Crysbro’s staffers as well as villagers in these areas as well.

With the goal of supporting the aspirations of young people in rural Sri Lanka, Crysbro recently signed a landmark MOU with the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) to launch the ‘NOCSL-CRYSBRO Next Champ’ scholarship program to uplift talented Sri Lankan athletes to the international sports arena. Here, Crysbro is serving as the primary sponsor for 20 deserving athletes scouted by NOCSL, with potential to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games 2022, Asian Games 2022, Commonwealth Games 2022, and South Asian Games 2021. This initiative is a part of the company’s flagship CSR initiative, Crysbro Next Champ, which recognizes, mentors, sponsors and rewards young sporting talent from all corners of the country. 

Established in 1972 with just 100 chicks and a deep desire to be a market leader in quality and innovation, Crysbro has emerged as Sri Lanka’s first and most sophisticated, fully vertically-integrated poultry producer. Its operations span grandparent and parent farms, hatcheries, broiler farms and feed mills. This thriving ‘Farm-to-Fork’ concept has formed the core of its success. In turn, it has yielded unprecedented benefit for numerous stakeholders including direct and indirect employees, outgrowers, domestic maize farmers and ultimately Sri Lankan consumers. These local links have immeasurably aided domestic production and led to a reduction in reliance on imported poultry products.