Fonterra to pilot milk-feeding programme in Sri Lanka schools
New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra said it will launch early next year a pilot milk-feeding programme for schoolchildren in Sri Lanka.
The programme is one of several initiatives designed to boost Sri Lanka's dairy industry, which is still dominated by small-scale farms, according to Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy. He said he was looking forward to the start of the pilot "milk in schools" programme.
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Fonterra processes 30,000 litres a day in its plant in Biyagama, It gets its supplies of milk from 4,000 farmers. It has set up model farms, which contributed to a 42% rise in the company's overall milk production and a 55% increase in the income of farmers after their first 12 months of operating model farms.
Fonterra figured in a controversy in August last year, when Sri Lanka's National Health Services Union won a temporary injunction to stop the sale of Fonterra products due to suspected nitrates in its milk powder products.
Minister Guy, however, said the "issues have now been resolved".
"Our two countries are building a stronger relationship through the New Zealand-Sri Lanka Dairy Co-operation Arrangement (DCA). The DCA is our commitment to the development of Sri Lanka's dairy industry," he said.
"New Zealand has one of the world's most efficient dairy industries, and a lot of valuable expertise to share with Sri Lankan dairy producers", added Guy, who raised the possibility of New Zealand exporting live dairy cattle to Sri Lanka.
Another initiative under the DCA is a five-year, US$2.2-million New Zealand aid programme focused on veterinary education, he said.
