Kiwi volunteers help lift farmers overseas

Troy Doherty, Bay of Plenty; Tim Phillips, Waikato; Murray Douglas, Northland; and Marloes Levelink, West Otago will spend a month at Fonterra's new demonstration and training farm in Pannala, near Colombo. They will work with local farmers and Fonterra supplier relationship officers on animal nutrition, prevention and treatment of mastitis and how to run a farm as a business.

The new farm and scheme are part of the cooperative's dairy development scheme for supporting the growth of sustainable dairy industries in key markets including Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China. Experts share expertise and work with local farmers, governments and industry players.

The new farm, due to be opened at the end of this month, will help Fonterra and its partners to increase local milk collection, improve milk quality and lift farmer incomes.

Managing director of Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka Sunil Sethi says the co-op has operated in Sri Lanka for 38 years and seeks to develop stronger farmer families.

"Fonterra has over 100 years of dairy farming experience and our cooperative structure is built on innovation, an attitude of working together and a willingness to try new things.

"This has allowed New Zealand farmers to develop practices and processes that work in NZ's unique environment and climate. This is what we're looking to bring to Sri Lanka, working with partners and farming families to find the best farming system that complements the country's climate and terrain.

"Ultimately, through training and education we believe we can support local farmers to produce higher quality milk which will create a more economically viable and sustainable local dairy industry to help us meet growing demand for fresh dairy products," says Sethi.

Sri Lankan farmers aren't the only ones getting opportunity to learn from Fonterra. Twelve Indonesian farmers travelled to NZ last year under the co-op's annual scholarship scheme that helps develop local dairy farming capability by hands-on training.

Almost 90% of the farmers have improved milk quality and half are now producing more milk as a result of new milk hygiene, animal care and farm management practices.

Scholarship participant Adieb Iryanto says he has introduced new farming practices as a result of the scholarship.

"I now keep records of my herd and financials, making it easier to track the performance and health of individual cows, and the overall profitability and operating costs of my farm. This has allowed me to look at my farming business and see where I can make changes to become more efficient and productive."

New appointment

Fonterra has appointed Sunil Sethi as Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka and Indian subcontinent managing director.

Sethi replaces Leon Clement, who was recently appointed managing director Fonterra Brands New Zealand.

Sethi joins Fonterra from Kellogg's where he was vice president of sales, Asia Pacific and Sub Sahara Africa.

He has 28 years of fast moving consumer goods experience, working in Asia Pacific and Africa including leadership roles where Sri Lanka was a priority market.

Fonterra has a strong business in Sri Lanka and the India subcontinent; it has 750 local employees, thousands of farmer suppliers and two factories.