January 2024 declared Livestock Development Month

By Ifham Nizam

The Livestock Development Division of the Ministry of Agriculture has declared next month as the Livestock Development Month for the registration of all dairy cattle farms in the country.

Agriculture and Plantation Industry Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on Wednesday, after a lengthy discussion with the officials of the Livestock Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Animal Production and Health Department, inquired regarding the five-year policy framework set to increase milk production.

Statistics indicate that there are 290,592 cattle farms but only 58,137 are registered with the Department of Animal Production and Health. Most of these are farms producing less than 100 litres of milk per day, which is one of the major concerns, the Minister said.

He also said due to the non-registration of dairy farms, the various relief services provided by the government to farmers who are involved in dairy farming have not been accessed by them. Also, registration of these farms is mandatory to prepare accurate data related to dairy products.

At present, cattle farms here are classified under three categories. Accordingly, they are categorized into subsistence level dairy farms, farms with up to 100 to 1000 cattle and large-scale dairy farms with more than 1000 animals.

Under the new setup, all farms with two cows or more will be registered and no fee will be charged for the same, the Minister said.

The Department of Animal Production and Health will make the necessary notifications for this purpose and all those engaged in dairy cattle management will be provided the necessary facilities for the registration of their dairy farms at the veterinary offices countrywide.