The arrangement was signed by Sri Lankan minister for external affairs Gamini Lakshman Peiris and New Zealand minister for foreign affairs Murray McCully on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo.
Fonterra director and farmer-shareholder John Monaghan said the agreement will help formalise and support further public and private sector dairy sector cooperation between the two countries.
“The New Zealand dairy industry and Fonterra have a long history working with the Sri Lankan dairy industry,” he said. “Fonterra has been collecting milk for the last 16 years to support the development of fresh dairy products. [This] agreement signals a clear pathway for the New Zealand government and Fonterra to significantly increase New Zealand’s investment in dairy development in Sri Lanka over the next decade.
“Within the framework of this agreement, Fonterra is looking to invest in model farms to train local farmers as well as provide a sustainable milk source for Fonterra’s fresh dairy business; invest in more milk collection centres around the country to enhance quality milk collection, and build on the Farmer Education and Development programme to ensure more farmers are producing larger volumes of high quality milk.”
Source: Fonterra
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