There would be no shortage of eggs and milk in the time to come, as claimed by certain parties, since the Government has taken every possible measure to strengthen livestock farmers, claimed State Minister of Livestock Development D.B. Herath.

Recently, the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) revealed that more than 14,000 farms in Sri Lanka had been closed, and this had been identified according to data received from the provinces. Officials pointed out that most of these farms were small-scale farms, and that most had been closed due to animal theft.

Against this backdrop, speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (6), Herath said that apart from the usual programmes, the State Ministry was now working with community organisations such as ‘Sanasa’ to increase the number of poultry and dairy farmers in order to address the issues caused by the closure of farms during the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis. He further noted that some foreign countries were providing assistance to Sri Lanka to address prevailing issues. 

“We need around 80,000 breeding animals to breed new animals. But it decreased to 20,000 due to the pandemic and other issues. Again, animal food prices were going up. But the Government granted many concessions to farmers. For example, we lifted the import levy on corn. Because of such moves, we were able to get the livestock industry back on the correct path,” he added. 

Moreover, Herath stated that the public should also help the Government and authorities in this task by doing what they could. He said that the people could take measures to fulfil their daily requirements by themselves rather than depending on large-scale manufacturers.