Saturday, 10 May 2014 00:13
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By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent
Sri Lanka will increase its annual milk production to 550 million litres by 2016, on par with the Government’s ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ vision, Deputy Minister of Livestock and Rural Community Development H.R. Mithrapala confirmed to Parliament yesterday.
Mithrapala was responding to a question for oral answers from UNP MP Anoma Gamage.
However, the estimated liquid milk requirement will be 785 million litres, reflecting a mismatch in demand and supply.
Sharing the livestock master plan formulated in 2011, Deputy Minister Mithrapala stated that programs are underway to increase production in the nine provinces.
According to the Ministry, these programs include enhancements introduced to small and medium scale dairy farms, availability of upgraded female calves and issuing of offspring to successful dairy farmers from the nucleus herd established by NLDB farms with imported cows.
