June 12, 2018
Bengal set to boost raw silk production
With Bengal witnessing a nine-fold increase in the production of bivoltine silk in the past seven years, the State Government is targeting to extend the cultivation of raw silk on a new area of 1,620 acres during the 2018-19 fiscal.
During the 2017-18 fiscal, the area of plantation was increased by 1,733 acres and it resulted in an yield of 2,540 metric tonne (MT) of mulberry raw silk, 34.50 MT of tasar raw silk, 2.60 MT of eri raw silk and 185 kg of muga raw silk. Infrastructure, including 898 rearing houses, 147 vermi-compost sheds and 10 cocoon storage buildings were developed to extend support to silk farmers during 2017-18.
The State Agriculture Minister has said that the production targets for raw silk for 2018-19 are 2,575 MT mulberry, 46 MT tasar, 6 MT eri and 400 kg muga.
Of the 1,620 acres of land that will be brought under sericulture during 2018-19, 1,000 acres will be for mulberry, 400 acres for tasar, 70 acres for muga and 150 acres for eri.
Large areas of land in the districts including Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum (together comprising the region of Jangalmahal) were brought under tasar cultivation during 2017-18, from which 18,040 people benefitted.
It may be mentioned that the production of bivoltine silk was 7.16 MT during 2012-13, which has gone up to 36 MT during 2017-18.
The State Agriculture Department will be organising a symposium, in which officials of agriculture, horticulture and sericulture sections will be present. Representative of silk-farmers will also be attending the symposium.
Source: Millennium Post
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