Cattle just before they were herded out to graze

We, meaning a small group of press people were in the Batticaloe District recently. We toured the small village area called Poonani. Positive land transformation and family rehabilitation were progressively making an impact on farmer families. Homesteads were gradually reverting normal living. Each family was allocated an extent of approximately quarter acre and were continuing farm practices through an out grower system.

'Do you own the land?" 'No. But the CIC company helps us with our animals and they buy the milk we produce.' ' You do not have any real problems?' 'Yes we do', but whatever problems we have are sorted out. By the CIC company.

The cattle herd we saw were certainly not in prime condition. Farm Manager CIC Mahaweli Dairies (pvt) ltd., Chandana, said it was correct that the herd was a mixed breed and did not register as prime cattle in equally optimum conditions. But he said this was just the commencement of the farm project.

They already had good stud stock. We saw them. Four stud bulls we observed in their pens, were satisfactory specimens of the Sahiwal breed and an inter bred progeny called AFS, or Australian Frisian Sahiwal, specimens. The Stud farm was in proximity to the cows and heifers. Each stud bull was valued at Rs 800,000. which was positive forward planning Chandana, said.

Veterinary services from the department of livestock development was operated more in line with a knee jerk system rather than one of organized service. Artificial insemination, decease treatment, and postmortem investigation and reporting was scarce. Major debilitating observations were that veterinary services were all but non existant because Livestock department intervention was few and far between, if at all, which rendered efficient service totally at an hoc level.

However CORE, (Connecting Regional Economies), and the dairy Development Initiative in the eastern Province, will, according to ground conditions, auger well for the dairy industry in that part of the country.

However focus that CORE set it self to achieve is certainly not simple. Poonani is on the periphery if system B of the Mahaweli project. Mahaweli waters did flow into the area, but because of the recently ended turbulent times inflow of Mahaweli water was interrupted. There may be some repair work to be done to annicuts and water carriage channels. Additionally sinking tube wells too were talked of, particularly the CIC farm project areas. It would become necessary that this be done through the Water supply and Drainage Board, because they seem to be the only organization to drill below bed rock to source perennial water supplies.

CORE entry to the Eastern sector will have salutary incursion through transfer of expertise and more logically funds for essential services to develop.

Managing Director CIC Farm project, Kirthi Kotagama, said according to their surveys, cattle mortality in the Batticaloa area was in the region of 50 animals per day. This he said was high by any standard. An urgent problem such as this required immediate attention, he said. But such investment would result in positive activity. Stemming from attention to animal mortality end user benefits would mean expansion of the out-grower concept.

He said CIC surveys revealed Company investment could be built to produce local requirement of milk which is presently One billion. Liters per day. But the dairy industry produces only approximately 120 million liters milk per day. The wide deficit vacuum will, need to be filled.

Kotagama said it would have to be an alround effort and the out-grower concept will evolve to be an efficient one where farmer homesteads will produce approximately 20 liters per animal per day. At present each animal produces just about 2 liters milk per day. He said CIC would endeavour to increase alround dairy development to ensure production of the required 1 billion liters milk per day.

The CIC farm project in the east will comprise substantial land mass of approximately 4000 acres farm land.

Farm manager Chandana, said plans included planting high quality fodder and sundry roughage to assist in their aim to produce milk to suit their requirements.

Apart from producing Buffalo milk, and value added milk products, opening out land also included growing Mango, papaya, lime, orange, dragon fruit, guava, mandarin and more fruit varieties because of substantial demand both locally and for export.

USAID contractor Melani Schultz said said CORE development included an agriculture based value added chain, to improve wellbeing of vulnerable groups, and overall economic development, and to improve competitiveness of Sri Lanka products.