September 4, 2009

Land O’Lakes International Development Division (IDD) announces the launch of the Dairy Enhancement in Eastern Province (DEEP) Program in Sri Lanka. The program’s overall objective is to connect Eastern Province dairy farmers to the dairy value chain and increase economic opportunities for participating dairy farmers. Not only will the program provide essential financial grants, technical assistance and training to participating program farmers aimed to improve on-farm productivity, but the program also will mobilize farmers into milk producer groups (MPGs) that will feed into program milk collection centers (MCCs) and link these centers to a consistent buyer of raw milk.

“This program is a unique opportunity for farmers to collectively own and operate milk collection centers, empowering them to negotiate better per-liter prices,” said Regional Project Manager for Asia Meredith Kruger. “Additionally, the farmers will pool their resources to better access inputs and business development services, such as veterinary care, that might otherwise be out of reach.”

Approximately 4,000 participating households, consisting of 20,000 family members, will benefit with an improvement in income, and the program will facilitate farmers organizing into 40 MPGs that will operate as independent and sustainable commercial businesses.

Paramount to the program is the Land O’Lakes strategic alliance with CIC Agri Businesses to expand economic opportunities for small-scale dairy producers of the province. Through the proposed Dairy Enhancement in Eastern Province (DEEP) program, the IDD alliance will build the technical and organizational capacities of dairy farmers and milk producer groups to enhance milk product quantity and quality. The three-year program will also leverage CIC Agri Businesses’ (CIC) planned investment in dairy processing facilities in the region, which will build producer-processor linkages to create steady streams of income for the region’s smallholder farmers and stimulate additional private sector investments in farm inputs and veterinary and breeding services.

DEEP will focus program activities in the Trincomalee and Batticaloa Districts of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. IDD’s approach involves the phasing in of activities across three components: increasing the quantity and quality of raw milk through targeted training and technical assistance; establishing milk collection centers and forging linkages with milk producer groups; and establishing modern dairy processing facilities in a Partnership for Eastern Economic Revitalization (PEER) target province. The phasing allows for maximum benefit to be achieved within three years.