Sericulture making a comeback in State

By K. P. Pushparaj

KOZHIKODE, NOV. 12. Sericulture seems to be making a comeback in the State thanks to the efforts of the Kerala State Sericulture Cooperative Federation Limited (SERIFED) to market it in a big way.

Taking into account the present crisis faced by the coconut, rubber and areacanut growers, sericulture could be the best option for them to switch over to. And, the response the Serifed authorities are getting from the farmers through the seminars and workshops on sericulture is a good indication of things to come.

Despite the fact that each year Kerala consumed silk products equivalent to 400 tonnes of raw silk, valued at around Rs.400 crores, the contribution of the State in sericulture was almost zero, till recently.

According to Mr. P. Gopalakrishnan, Deputy Director, Silkworm Seed Production Centre, Central Silk Board, Palakkad, the State has ample potential to develop sericulture as an export oriented enterprise or at least an enterprise producing material which can be an import substitution.

The first attempt for promoting sericulture in 1986 had failed miserably with only a small fraction of mulberry planters graduating to cocoon rearing. The very lack of vision and institutional mechanism for going on further from cocoon production to silk reeling, yarn-making, weaving, garment making and exports ultimately ended up burning the fingers of many farmers.

One of the reasons for the failure of the earlier programme was that the Khadi Board lacked technical expertise for coordinating such a programme.

However, the second coming of sericulture is based on a review of the past failures and a new master plan for `integrated revitalisation' of the sector visualising forward linkages upto garment making and exports.

The new programme by Serifed aims at reducing this dependence by boosting domestic production and earning higher values through exports. And, considering the fact that the silk thread produced in the State (A 1 grade) confers to the international standards and India being the second largest producer of silkworms in the world, the potential of sericulture in the State is far more significant.

Serifed, established in 1994, co-ordinates the activities of sericulture in various parts of the State besides ensuring the farmers a guaranteed market and decent returns for their product. The difficulty in marketing cocoon has been one of the reasons for the low priority for people to venture into mulberry cultivation and cocoon production.

A decent income with an assured market guaranteed by the Serifed and duly supported by Governmental subsidies is attracting many farmers into this once unattractive activity.

Cultivated either as a mono crop or an inter crop, sericulture has good potential in the State. Since farming does not involve hard labour, a farmer could engage in mulberry farming and cocoon production without employing hard labour and much physical exertion.

According to Serifed authorities, the activity in 50 cents of land with reasonable sunlight could fetch a monthly earning of at least Rs. 3,000.

The Government subsidies play an important role in attracting farmers into sericulture. The Governmental support ranges from basic planting materials to cultivation subsidies, stipend for attending training programmes in silkworm rearing, financial assistance for building rearing sheds, acquiring equipments for farming besides an extra incentive for demonstration plots.

This apart, there are also production incentives at the rate of Rs. 5 per kg for cross-bread-multi-voltine cocoons and Rs. 15 per kg. for bi-voltine cocoons besides a subsidy on interests above four per cent on Nabard loans.

In addition, training programmes, production incentives for cocoon, support price, insurance scheme for silkworm crop, supply of saplings and subsidy for setting up reeling units are also being offered by Serifed.

But, while motivating the farmers to take up mulberry cultivation, care is being taken to create awareness on the need for reducing cultivation expenses. Given the very small average landholding and the high cost of hired labour in the State, mulberry cultivation could be viable only with the deployment of family labour.

It is here the relevance of family participation in sericulture assumes importance. The involvement of women in mulberry cultivation, cocoon and seed production and silk reeling is considered noteworthy since mulberry sericulture requires small investment and has the ability to generate year-round employment for farm family members. According to researchers in the field, the employment for women in silk industry - from mulberry cultivation to silk weaving, is quite high.

According to Mr. T. S. Krishnamoorthy, Deputy Director, Serifed, the low leaf-yield due to rainfed and intercropped condition, subsidiary nature of occupation and small land holding besides lack of strengthened post cocoon linkage and market driven development are the other problems that dog the prospects of sericulture in the State.

According to Dr. P. Rajeev, Training Organiser at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Peruvannamuzhi near here, only by a meaningful diversification could the agricultural sector in the State

withstand the pressure exerted due to globalisation being witnessed in the State.

Speaking at a one-day workshop on sericulture recently, he said the agricultural activities should be comprehensively invigorated by giving thrust to paddy, vegetable, banana and cashew cultivation and venturing into allied activities like cattle farming and sericulture.

Being a labour-intensive industry, sericulture and allied activities can generate employment and thereby ensure rural industrialisation and development. The labour involved is light and the practices are simple and hence provides ample opportunity to employ even the unskilled. Silk industry is an ideal tool for rural development and can provide opportunities, guaranteeing additional income to the landless and marginal farmers.

According to Mr. V. Haridasan, District Serifed Officer, the federation aims at cultivating mulberry in 12,120 acres of land across the State and to additionally produce cocoon to the tune of 68.4 MT by the end of this fiscal. The target for the year in the district is an additional mulberry cultivation in 75 acres and an added cocoon production of 2.16 MT.

But, a "sericulture revolution" and a self-sufficiency in silk production guaranteeing mass employment and rural development of the State could be possible only if the farming community would show a committed involvement in sericulture with dedicated support extended by the agencies.

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