Govi Suwaya – Samaposha extends local farmer CSR to healthcare

Plenty Foods Director/CEO Shammi Karunaratne presenting a can of purified water to a beneficiary in Getalawa, Galenbindunuwewa, while General Manager Vasantha Chandrapala and Agriculture Manager Preethi Viraj look on

Plenty Foods Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of Ceylon Biscuits Ltd., is the manufacturer of ‘Samaposha’ cereal brand for children and adults, that is loved by millions of Sri Lankans. This highly nutritious product provides children with necessary nutrients to enhance their growth and health through the goodness of corn, rice, soya and green gram, and is 100% locally manufactured using natural ingredients. Plenty Foods Ltd. is integrated to 8,000 farmers who grow these crops to manufacture Samaposha.

Since the inception the company has been extending its ‘long arm of charity’ to sustain the farmers who are connected to the company. Under the CBL Govi Pawula (Farmer Club) concept, the company is constantly giving back to the farmers in the areas of Govi Danuma, Govi Sarana, Govi Arana and Govi Sathuta unique for CSR sub-projects ranging from farmer education, sustenance in hardships, infrastructure development and the wellbeing of the farmer families.

The company recently launched its latest corporate social responsibility initiative ‘Govi Suwaya’ (ensuring the health of farmer communities with the opening of a water purifying unit in Getalawa, Galenbindunuwewa. The water purification unit provided by Samaposha is able to provide purified water for effected farmer families. 

The company has duly identified the critical need for a water purifying unit in the area as many farmers are increasingly being affected by kidney disease. The final outcome of this problem has ripple effects which are far more serious than even the affected farmers realise. When the farmers become affected by illness, production declines sharply and eventually sourcing quality raw materials becomes a challenge. As a result the prices of the end product inevitably go up. 

PFL CEO Shammi Karunaratne explaining their focus on farmer development said, “We believe protecting our farmer community is as equally important as protecting our customers. We provide all these facilities and hygiene solutions to the farmers expecting no return. Our main objective is to treat them as part of the PFL family and to be there for them when they are in need. This is only the start of the Govi Suwaya program. We expect to conduct a series of medical camps, health screenings as well as medical consultation for our farmers in due course.”

Jayasundra a PFL farmer from Galenbidunuweva said, “Many farmers in our community have been affected by kidney disease during the past months. Samaposha is a company that provided us with what we needed the most, a water purifying unit.”

PFL is the only company that provides an above market rate, guaranteed price for the farmer’s crop. The company’s objective is to build a long term relationship with the farmers, thereby creating sustainable business practices.

‘Govi Suwaya’ is latest pillar of the holistic CSR program of PFL, ‘Govi Pawula’. Govi Pawula is a unique initiative to develop farmer communities which at present have over 8,000 registered farmers. Under this program, the company conducts a series of workshops for the farmer community to share knowledge relating to farming activities (Govi Danuma knowledge sharing sessions); constructs and repairs religious shrines (Govi Arana spiritual development projects), provides disaster response services (Govi Sarana) and also conducts social entertainment events (Govi Sathuta).

Plenty Foods Ltd. has always taken stringent measures to maintain the quality of the Samaposha product. With all these initiatives of protecting the farmer community and enhancing the lifestyles of the farmers, PFL believes that the consumer will reap the benefits of their efforts at the end of the day. As a company that is built on the pillars of human relationships, it manages every touch point of the total supply chain network with the ultimate objective of providing a high quality nutritional product to all Sri Lankans.