EXETEL DAIRY PROJECT
Moragaha Ulpotha, Wilgamuwa Divisional Secretary Division. Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka
The Maha Mega Uyana Livestock Development Farm, a major component of the dry zone dairy industry development project conceived by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society and funded by Exetel Private Limited of Sydney, Australia had an official foundation laying ceremony on Thursday, February 18th 2010 at Moragaha Ulpotha in Wilgamuwa. The Chief Guest was the Honorable Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils. The main objective of the Exetel supported SLWCS dairy development effort is to develop a project that would contribute to resolving human elephant conflict by developing dry zone dairy to benefit both elephants and people. Cattle and elephants do not have conflicts and will share resources in harmony. The goal is to develop appropriate management systems and sustainable technologies such as improved breeding, better husbandry, and rangeland and pasture management so that both cattle and elephants can continue to share resources. The SLWCS hopes to achieve these goals and objectives by establishing a model dairy project that consists of a nucleus breeding, dry zone pasture management and sustainable technology development programs. The Society will work in partnership and consultation with the Farm Animal Production and Health Department and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of Peradeniya, National Livestock Development Board, Department of Animal Health and Production, the Engineering and Electronic Communications Laboratory of the University of Moratuwa and other various local and national government institutions.
The foundation stone laying ceremony was well attended by all the national, provincial, and local government administrative officials of Wilgamuwa including the veterinary surgeon of the Department of Animal Health and Production regional office in Dambulla. During the placing of the foundation stone by the Honorable Minister, pirith was chanted by the most Reverend Yanananda, Chief Priest of the Anandarama Temple in Wasgamuwa. The Minister and the other dignitaries after the laying of the foundation stone participated in planting CO3 grass to initiate the project’s pasture development program. The ceremony on the main stage began after religious activities were conducted by Reverend Yanananda. After the lighting of the traditional lamp the welcome speech was given by the SLWCS Farm’s Project Manager, Samantha Mirandu who gave an outline of the aims and goals of the dairy project. Ravi Corea, the President of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society in his speech gave an overview of the drawbacks and obstacles that hampered the development of the dry zone dairy industry in Sri Lanka. He stressed that these challenges had to be overcome and that was one of the main objectives of the SLWCS dairy project. Mr. Corea also mentioned that one of the main reasons to develop a successful smallholder dairy model was the immediate necessity to provide farmers in intense human elephant conflict areas with a livelihood that was compatible to living with elephants. He thanked Exetel Private Limited for supporting the project through their highly visionary corporate social responsibility program which is an example that should be emulated by other private sector companies if they were committed to sustainable development. He also thanked the Honorable Minister and other dignitaries for attending the ceremony and thanked all the SLWCS staff for their cooperation and support to organize the event. The government veterinary surgeon of Dambulla, Dr. H.M.R.U.B. Herath in his speech spoke about the subsidy programs the government was offering as incentives for farmers to adapt livestock farming and how the SLWCS project would further enable them to become successful dairy farmers. The Honorable Minister in his speech commended the SLWCS for the pioneering work the Society has done to alleviate the socioeconomic standards of marginalized communities whose livelihoods were threatened by escalating human elephant conflicts by providing them strategies to minimize their losses. He stressed the fact that SLWCS was an organization that did excellent work, had a very good record and reputation and was deeply committed to contributing to the sustainable development efforts of the national government. He called upon all those who were present especially the government administrative officers and the villagers of Moragaha Ulpotha to give their help and support to the efforts of the SLWCS to establish the farm which will herald a new era of socioeconomic development and environmental conservation and management in the Wilgamuwa region. The vote of thanks was given by SLWCS Project Manager, Chinthaka Weerasinghe. After the conclusion of the ceremony, the Honorable Minister, dignitaries and invitees were hosted to lunch at the field house of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society in Wasgamuwa.
Objectives:
- Establish a model sustainable dairy farm based on the concepts of eco-agriculture.
- Demonstrate and disseminate good animal husbandry practices among village communities.
- Encourage livestock management as an integral part of sustainable agricultural activity since it is highly compatible with elephants.
- Demonstrate the usefulness of livestock in home-garden and agro-forestry systems.
- Introduce modern animal husbandry methods to villagers.
- Upgrade local livestock through a Nucleus Breeding Program.
- Improve feed and nutrition by developing a Dry Zone Pasture Management System.
- Develop appropriate technologies such as DAISCSY© and MILCC©[1] to improve dairy management.
- Develop a local languages-based Agriculture Research and Information Portal (AgRIP©)1 to share information and encourage stakeholder cooperation.
- Link local livestock owners to extension services and markets.
- Minimize losses due to elephant raids.
Impacts
- A self financing, research, development and quality assurance facility for animal husbandry and dairy products.
- A dairy model for HEC prevalent areas as a capacity building measure that can be sustained utilizing existing community resources, e.g. land, agriculture by-products, post harvest crop residues and labor.
- Enriched underutilized buffer through pasture management for elephants and livestock to share.
- Extend practical assistance to rural farmers and encourage them to pursue livestock management.
- Increased employment opportunities for villagers.
- A viable livestock farming model based on eco-agriculture concepts that can be replicated in other HEC prone areas.
- Stimulate diversification and private enterprise in product preservation and processing.
- Provide alternative livelihoods that are compatible to sharing land with elephants.
- Protect the farmers from exploitation by middlemen.
- Sustain local communities and their livelihoods via capacity building to integrate livestock farming into agriculture production.
- Minimize HEC and buffer crop losses via alternative income sources such as milk and compost production
- Support the local communities via provisioning of jobs and purchasing cereals and crop-by products.
- Replicable sustainable model to address HEC issues in buffer zones of national parks and forest reserves.
- A sustainable income generating project for the SLWCS.
Direct benefits to the community
- The farm will function as a local center for demonstration, training, extension services and capacity building where farmers will be able to get knowledge and hands-on experience in livestock management practices such as feeding systems, housing, improved breeding practices, hygienic milk production, record keeping, manure management, biogas production, and preventive healthcare including disease and parasite control, and animal welfare.
- Income generation through growing grasses as out growers and via selling cereals and crop-by products.
- Communities in the buffer zone will generate an income as livestock farmers through milk, grass and compost/manure production.
- Increase fresh milk and processed milk consumption; enhance protein intake to improve the health of the local communities.
- Sustainable energy production and higher crop yields via waste recycling as compost, manure and biogas production.
- Link livestock farmers to extension services such as AI and veterinary facilities.
- Utilize crop residue such as straw, residual greenery from cereals and post harvest losses as livestock feed.
- Provide farmers participating in the program with high yield crossbred animals.
- Provisioning of facilities for farmers to access the market and enter the mainstream marketing chain.
- Minimization of elephant crop raiding especially of village homes as they encounter nutritious forage in the enriched buffer zone.
- Lessened socio-economic and psychological impact on farmers because they don’t experience severe crop losses due to elephant raids and attacks.
Benefits to the endangered elephant
The fact that there is no conflict between domestic animals and elephants using the same area for feeding makes establishing pasture a highly suitable activity in the buffer zones surrounding protected forests and corridors that elephants frequently use.
- Increased food resources for elephants through pasture management.
- Ensure availability of forage even during the dry season.
- Reduced injury and harm to elephants because they have less reasons to enter villages and fields.
- Reduction of elephant deaths or fatal accidents due to human activities.
- Less habitat degradation.
