(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Milk farmers in the North-Central village of Seeppukulama will benefit from a milk chilling centre upgraded by Nestlé, offering them increased opportunities to sell their milk to the company. Nestlé is currently the largest private sector collector of milk in the country. Its payment to local dairy farmers over the last three years alone amounts to over Rs. 10.5 billion.
The enhanced milk chilling center was inaugurated by Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, P. Harrison, in commemoration of World Milk Day.
The unit will benefit around 300 farmers in the area with increased chilling and storage facilities, enabling them to sell more milk and keep it fresh until it is taken to the Nestlé factory in Kurunegala, for manufacturing its wide portfolio of dairy based products.
World Milk Day is a day established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to recognize the importance of milk as a global food.
Nestlé has been working closely with local authorities since the early 1980’s to help develop the dairy industry, investing yearly in infrastructure, farmer training and resources, veterinary services, microfinancing assistance, and increasing manufacturing capacity. It re-affirmed its commitment to developing local dairy farmers last year, with the launch of ‘Nestlé Kiri Govi Diriya’.Through the program, more than 3,000 farmers benefited from training on modern technologies and best practices.
