Pelwatte Dairy partners SAPP to assist farmer lives in difficult times

Pelwatte Dairy, the leading local dairy brand in Sri Lanka that produces a range of dairy goods and saves valuable foreign exchange, is also a prime mover in farmer welfare. In its efforts to give back to its farmer community base and uplift it, especially given the economic hardships they presently face, Pelwatte is embarking on an innovative project of collaboration to fulfil a diverse array of farmer family needs.

Pelwatte Managing Director Akmal Wickramanayake said: “In our latest initiative to serve our 10,000 strong dairy farmer community, we have obtained the membership of the Smallholder Agribusiness Partnership Program (SAPP), a small scale agribusiness partnership program implemented with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Agriculture. SAPP aims to help 10,000 dairy farmers from eight districts – Anuradhapura, Nuwara Eliya, Kurunegala, Monaragala, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Ampara, and Puttalam – to improve their commercial partnerships, access to finance, technical know-how, agriculture mechanisation and sustainable practices. 

“The current economic situation in the country has impacted our dairy farming community strongly. Still, we at Pelwatte ensure production of dairy at the best quality. Therefore, we felt that it is our duty to partner with the SAPP grants program and to lead by example. We will financially contribute to important life events of farmer families such as marriage of a family member, birth of a new member to the family, a farmer’s child is admitted to grade 1, a farmer’s child passes the Grade 5 scholarship or enters the university, when a female child reaches puberty, when a family member becomes disabled or faces heart surgery and/or kidney/cancer treatments, and on the death of a family member.”

Pelwatte inaugurated the SAPP Grants Ceremony at the Kekirawa milk collection centre auditorium with the participation of the Smallholder Agribusiness Partnership Program (SAPP) and the Market Oriented Dairy (MOD) program. What is important to note is that SAPP is not only about financial grants but it strives to empower the farming community with training assisted by the Market Oriented Dairy program by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the International Executive Corporation (IESC).

“We are pleased with the opportunity to be part of a national dairy program that assists the Sri Lankan dairy farmer community in many ways,” Managing Director Wickramanayake added.