Market-Oriented Dairy Sri Lanka

The Market-Oriented Dairy (MOD) Project’s main objective is to help develop Sri Lanka’s dairy sector in order to enhance the country’s milk production as well as improve the quality of milk to meet the growing nutritional demands of the population. To achieve this, the Project’s interventions are designed keeping in mind the overarching principal that animal welfare and comfort is key to increasing milk production. These interventions include ensuring 24-hour availability of drinking water, proper feeding and other best practices in cow and calf management such as trimming of horns and hoofs to avoid injury and discomfort. The project also actively promotes the free-barn system opposed to a tie down system to improve cow comfort. Dairy farmers are also trained to recognize signs of heat stress and educated on methods of minimizing heat stress such as introducing water sprinkling and fan systems and good ventilated barns oriented to deflect direct sunlight. In addition, farmers are trained on farm management best practices including appropriate environment design.

MOD interventions align and support the principals of the ‘Five Freedoms’ as defined by Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) ie., freedom from hunger and thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigor, freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area, freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment, freedom to express normal behavior by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind, freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and care which avoid mental suffering.