Lankan team in state to study dairy farming

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sri Lanka is looking towards Kerala for a few tips on dairy farming. Though Kerala is not yet a Switzerland when it comes to organised dairying, the state’s steps in this direction has caught the attention of the island nation. Over the next four days, a 25-member Lankan team will listen to lectures, interact with their Kerala counterparts in veterinary and animal husbandry sciences and visit hi-tech dairy farms for pointers. The Lankan team, which arrived on Monday, is led by Hiteki Saito, chief advisor to a Japan-assisted project on feeding and dairy management, Department of animal production and health, based in Peradeniya. The Lankan team is here to attend a training module of the State Government undertaking Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB).  ‘’Dairying is part of the programmes devised by Sri Lanka for its rebuilding programme. They hope to empower dairy farmers and offer them a means of making a living. All provinces of the country are represented in the team,’’ KLDB managing director Ani S Das said. On Tuesday morning, the team will meet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister K P Mohanan for an interactive session. They will spend the rest of the day at the hi-tech farm at Kulathupuzha in Kollam district studying feeding and breeding systems practised there. They will also spend time at the nearby dairy farms which are part of the KLDB’s Milk City Project. The emphasis of such visits will also be to study how modern technology can be efficiently used to upgrade dairying, Ani S Das said. On Wednesday, the team will tour Mavelikkara, Vaikom and Muvattupuzha to study the progeny-testing programmes and bull semen storage systems implemented in the state. On subsequent days, the Lankan team will also visit KLDB’s Mattupetty farm where a hi-tech facility is coming up and a fodder production centre.s