The U.S. Ambassador, Patricia A. Butenis, officially opened a new ice cream plant in Batticaloa District as part of a dairy revitalization project that will increase the incomes of 4,000 dairy farmers and create new jobs in the former conflict-affected area.
The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the de
velopment agency of the U.S. Government. USAID provided $3.75 million to initiate the project, leveraging funding from Land O’Lakes, a leading U.S. dairy producer, and CIC Agribusiness, a major Sri Lankan agricultural company.Ambassador Butenis said, “The U.S. Government is proud to support this effort to revitalize the dairy industry in the East. This project will increase the incomes of participating farmers, ensure that the quantity and quality of milk produced in Sri Lanka improves, and reduce dependence on imported milk products.”
The project has established a network of farmers from Batticaloa, Trincomalee, and Polonnaruwa districts, teaching them new skills to increase the quantity and the quality of milk production. Before the conflict, the Eastern Province provided 30% of all milk production in the country, reflecting the great untapped potential of the dairy industry in the east. This project alone is expected to increase national milk collection by 9%.
Following the plant opening, Ambassador Butenis met with a group of mostly female dairy farmers who attended the event.
Image: U.S. Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis with women farmers in Punani.
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