Sri Lanka produces only about 43% of its daily milk requirement locally, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Namal Karunaratne told Parliament on Thursday, citing data from the Department of Census and Statistics.
Karunaratne said the government has allocated Rs. 1,000 million under this year’s Budget to raise annual milk production from 410 million litres to 1,200 million litres. A further Rs. 1,000 million has been set aside for the development of the Nikaweratiya Farm, he said.
The farm is to be developed into a nucleus breeding facility producing high-quality female and male cattle and buffaloes, part of a wider effort to expand domestic dairy output and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imported milk powder.
