Download Camels and ostriches could be an unlikely solution to food shortages in Sri Lanka, if a new initiative is successful.
Although more than two decades of civil war ended last year, people in some areas of Sri Lanka are still finding the cost of food to be painfully high.
Thousands of children suffer malnourishment.
But now, the government is considering importing camels for their milk and also ostriches for their eggs, in order to help ease the food supply problem.
Sajithra Nithi of Radio Australia reports.
Sri Lanka currently imports basic food products. From milk and chickens to eggs and, most recently, coconuts - a product it had been exporting for many years.
And the Government could soon take the extraordinary step of introducing camels to the country, as it seeks to boost and diversify its food supplies.
The Deputy Minister for Livestock Development, Mr H.R. Mithrapala, says they're interested in possibly importing camels, from Saudi Arabia, to supply milk for locals and tourists.
“Camel milk is very strong and healthy drink, a lot of tourists are coming now, so we can give them varieties.”
And he says this plan is mainly about diversifying the diet of Sri Lankans.
“There is no food scarcity, we have enough food, what we want to do now is try varieties, different, different types of things we've seen in the world, so if we can have our own things it's better and people can enjoy it, especially the Muslim people in the country they're very much interested and they like it.”
Camel milk is said to have several health benefits.
It's consumed widely across the Arab world, and the Sri Lankan government hopes its popularity will spread there.
Deputy Livestock Development Minister Mithrapala says Sri Lanka has two dry zones that would provide a suitable living and breeding environment for these animals.
But it's not just camels they're looking at. With the increasing cost of chickens and eggs, the government is also considering importing ostriches - for their eggs - as Mr Mithrapala explains.
“Compared to other eggs, this is very bigger and weight-wise it is higher, so we can feed a family with one egg.”
And the Deputy Minister says he isn't too worried about introducing foreign species to the country.
“During British time, tea plantations [were] introduced in to Sri Lanka and rubber plants [were] introduced. These are not our crops. So we have imported so many things in to this country, so we're trying new things. It's nothing wrong to experiment with these things, if the environment is favourable.”
But not everyone agrees that bringing in camels and ostriches would help.
Dr Harsha de Silva is an economist and an MP from the main opposition party, the UNP.
“Before we start looking about camel milk, we need to think about cow's milk. Where this country imports almost, I believe, 90 per cent of its requirement of milk from Europe, Australia and New Zealand.”
Dr de Silva says according to recent surveys, the average spending on food has decreased over the past three years, due to the high rate of inflation towards the end of the country's civil war in 2009.
“People can't live at these prices. People are disappointed that after the war the government has not been able to deliver on its promise for people to have a slightly easier life.”
And he says the high cost of milk is taking an enormous toll, with almost 30 per cent of children aged between six months and six years found to be malnourished.
Dr de Silva also says that diversifying the diet isn't needed now.
“Our people need to be able to consume more of what we're eating now. Forget about diversifying, diversifying can be done later, but food has to become affordable in this country.”
There are two main areas the government should look at, he says.
“One is agricultural policy, one is the trade policy. We need to be able to have coherence in these policies so that people can afford a decent three meals a day.”
The government is still in discussions about the cost of bringing in camels and ostriches.
The Deputy Minister for Livestock Development says a decision will be made in the next year.