Q: How has your organisation played a part in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 crisis?

CIC was aware that several of its divisions were providers of essential inputs to key sectors.

Pharma, crop solutions, agri and those closely connected to these divisions underpin the healthcare sector as well as the rural community.

As such, the senior management felt that it was CIC’s duty to use all available means in order to deliver its products in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. CIC wanted to minimize the effects of the pandemic on end-customers so as to prevent them from suffering financially.

Our management was also acutely aware of the fact that with rains coming early, farmers would be in danger of foregoing a season if we didn’t distribute essential agri inputs as well as seeds.

To this end, the management of both our agriculture and pharmaceutical units devised a plan to harness every available resource in order to meet what was an extremely daunting challenge at the time.

With the intention of ensuring a source of income for our longstanding end user farmers and customers, the management – with the help of regulatory authorities and the police – ensured that the company’s fertiliser blending plant in Peliyagoda and agri inputs repacking facility in Godagama operated without disruption.

Working together with limited and restricted staff, and a restricted distributor network, we continuously provided farmers with essential agri inputs required for cultivation.

Similarly, the pharma division led the effort to ensure that essential drugs were made available both to hospitals and pharmacies – as did our subsidiary Link Natural, which succeeded in distributing Samahan, which was in high demand during curfew.

Q: So in what spheres has this assistance made a mark, in your assessment?

The lockdown period also saw uninterrupted manufacturing of CIC dairy products in our plant in Dambulla. And this in turn guaranteed farmers in the North-Central Province an income during this time through the continuous purchase of milk.

The three CIC-run farms in Dambulla, Hingurakgoda and Thalawa also operated during the pandemic as farming activities were granted special permission to continue operations by the health authorities.

Through its Fresheez outlet, CIC was also able to tie up with home delivery partners to deliver essential items such as rice, milk, chicken, and some items of fruit and vegetables directly to consumers during the curfew.

Throughout this period, the company ensured that all employees who were working away from home during the curfew strictly followed the health guidelines. And employees who worked from home were equipped with all the necessary resources to facilitate uninterrupted operations on the front lines.

While the results of this untiring effort by the management are only likely to be felt in the coming months when many of the farmers who use CIC’s agri inputs will have a harvest to cash in on, the board of CIC has recognised the contribution made by all staff for their dedication and commitment, which made the foregoing initiatives possible.