AUSTRALIAN COWS DON’T MILCH MUCH

Livestock farmers, who purchased imported milching cows supplied by the Government, incur heavy losses, Organisation to Protect Dairy Farmers said. It said that the farmers were in a predicament for want of income from milching cows to repay bank loans and that they were facing the seizure of their property.

“The livestock farmers who incurred losses from the project had now been left without alternative but to commit suicide,” National Organiser of OPDF Navaratne said.

He pointed out that the dairy farmers had obtained bank loans and even mortgaged their property to purchase the cows imported from Australia by the Government, but they were now incurring heavy losses.

“Every dairy farm incurs a loss of more than Rs.100,000 a day. They had paid Rs. 500,000 for each cow supplied by the Government through a private company.

“Most of the cows were barren or not giving milk as expected. Several others were suffering from diseases,” he said.

“Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe in May this year pointed out that several serious malpractices involving the import of those cows. Animal Quarantine and Health Department had informed the Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Economy in February this year that other animals and even the people could contract the diseases.

“A private company and the Ministry of Livestock Development that implemented the failed project are responsible for the predicament of the farmers,” he said. However, Project Director Sagarika Sumanasekara said the farmers had not maintained the cows as advised and that it resulted in failure to earn the expected income.