In 1982 Nestlé Lanka decided to set up rural milk collecting points and chilling centres in three districts close to the Nestlé Kurunegala factory, in order to assist rural farmers who lacked the means to transport milk over a certain distance, and also ensure high quality at the point of sale to the factory.

The first chilling centre was set up in Galgamuwa. Up-to-date Nestlé Lanka has set up 80 chilling centres across the country and plan to set up a few more in selected locations. All chilling centres are installed with basic testing equipment ensuring that every litre of milk collected is checked for quality. The largest centre has the capacity to store 8,000 kilos of milk.

Once set up, the chilling centres are leased to individual stakeholders and are supervised, with frequent audits, by Nestlé Lanka. In addition, the chilling centres sell special aluminium milk collecting canisters to the farmers at subsidised rates, mineral supplements, cattle feed and de-worming solutions. This initiative has helped around 12,000 farmers in rural areas to sell their milk while still fresh, reducing wastage and generating a regular income. The project is in line with the Millennium Development Goal 1—Eradicating Poverty