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Friday, 8 November 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
While technological innovation is pivotal for any sector looking to make meaningful progress, this is especially true of the agriculture industry. That is why Sri Lanka’s leading chicken producer Crysbro has made it its business to relentlessly innovate and pursue cutting-edge technology as soon as it rolls out.
The most prominent example of this policy is the company’s willingness to utilise the latest farming equipment. It is currently the only firm which employs sophisticated agricultural machinery to efficiently harvest 100 acres a day. The reason other agriculture companies have shied away from the German-manufactured machine is its high price tag, something which did not deter Crysbro, an organisation with a long track record of spending big to guarantee the quality of its products.
For its crop irrigation process, Crysbro utilises the newest rain guns. These high-pressure sprinkler irrigation systems discharge high but controlled volumes of water to simulate rain to keep crops well irrigated and mitigate the effects of reduced rainfall.
Meanwhile, for the feeding process, the company has its own fleet of tractors and feeders which can cover up to about 100 acres a day.
In its latest efforts to complement its role as an industry pioneer, Crysbro acquired the region’s most technologically-advanced chicken feed production machinery.
The new equipment, housed in a Kurunegala-based chicken feed mill, will improve the company’s production speed and efficiency. What adds to the uniqueness of the production mill is its special layout, which operates in a top-down manner within the premises.
This has translated into the main production factory being 11 storeys tall. Additionally, while most other chicken feed production factories in the region possess buildings made of metal, all of Crysbro’s structures are constructed entirely of concrete, helping to keep out harmful bacteria.
Nevertheless, speaking previously about maize production volumes, Crysbro Senior Marketing Manager Amores Sellar stated that local supply was still insufficient to match current demand.
“For local use, we require annual maize production of 400,000 metric tonnes but we can only produce 150,000 metric tonnes locally. Therefore we have had to import the rest of the 250,000 tonnes. And for every kilo of maize that we import, we have to pay Rs. 10 in taxes to the Government. For every kilo of chicken that we sell, we also have to pay Rs. 85 in taxes. If the tax systems were improved, this advantage could definitely be passed down to consumers. The best and cheapest source of protein in Sri Lanka is chicken, so it is the government’s and customers’ responsibility to protect this industry,” he asserted.
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.
