Sri Lanka: Mines To Milk
HDI is implementing a landmine clearance and dairy development project in Sri Lanka funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress program. This project, located in the Jaffna peninsula, embodies HDI's belief that landmine removal and agricultural development are interlinked.
The project has two interdependent components:
- Landmine clearance from over 600,000 m2 of dairy farmland; and
- Dairy and livestock systems revitalization.
Newly demined land is being utilized for milk production and processing, and we are providing training to over 2,000 farmers in improved dairy farming production techniques. We estimate this project will triple the supply of fresh milk available in Sri Lanka, which will in turn spur the further development of private sector dairy processing. As indirect beneficiaries, thousands of inhabitants of the currently mine-affected villages in Jaffna will be able to safely travel to work, to school and to their farms.
Latest Project Status Report
Communiqué Archive
December 2007
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August 2007
Commercial Lynks Inc.
The Virginia-based export house, Commercial Lynks Inc. has been one of HDI's most valuable partners over the past year. The company is led by Sri Lankan Jayaraman Gnanasekaran and has been in operation since 1999. Over the course of 2007, Commercial Lynks Inc. bought nearly $3.5 million worth of red lentils and soybean oil from HDI allowing us to fund our ongoing 2-year mine clearance and dairy development project in Sri Lanka's Jaffna Peninsula. Commercial Lynks Inc. consistently offered HDI the best prices for our USDA commodities. This monetization process, which at times can prove to be most difficult, went off without a hitch largely due to the good business practices of Commercial Lynks Inc. and the commitment and dedication of its CEO, Jayaraman Gnanasekaran, to provide the best price possible for the lentils and soybean oil. HDI is proud to count Commercial Lynks Inc. among its partners and associates.
Page last updated 14 May, 2008. Report a broken link.