The Hindu : Front Page : Private firm to launch contract farming for cocoon rearing

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Friday, Nov 20, 2009
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Private firm to launch contract farming for cocoon rearing

M. Soundariya Preetha

It has identified 800 farmers from Udumalpet, Theni, Palani and Dindigul

COIMBATORE: Honeybee Silk Corporation, a Coimbatore-based sericulture company, will soon launch contract farming for mulberry cultivation and cocoon rearing, bringing into its fold 800 farmers in the State to produce about 900 tonnes of cocoon annually.

Honeybee Silk Corporation Managing Director L. Ramaraj told The Hindu that the company had identified 800 farmers (1,500 acres) from Udumalpet, Theni, Palani and Dindigul.

The farmers were into sericulture already and hence had silkworm rearing facilities with them.

The company would supply to them silkworm larvae and inputs and provide technical support.

It had constructed a 20,000 sq.ft. building near Udumalpet with a capacity to rear three lakh disease-free layings a month.

It had also tied up with National Silkworm Seed Organisation of the Central Silk Board for the bi-voltine, hybrid silkworm eggs, Mr. Ramaraj said.

He said the company would buy back the cocoon from the farmers at the prevailing market rate.

It would collect the cocoons from their doorstep. It would enter into one year contract with them for the contract farming.

An automatic reeling unit was operating at Gobichettipalayam and similar units were proposed in Udumalpet and Salem. The company proposed to have a tie-up with these units to supply the cocoons to be made into bi-voltine silk. It also had enquiries from overseas buyers for the cocoon.

Further, Coimbatore was a major centre for consumption of China silk.

Bivoltine silk produced under the project would be competitive to the China silk in terms of price and quality, he said.

“The advantage of the system is the production of large quantities of cocoon and silk with consistency in quality,” he said.

Honeybee had invested Rs. 3 crore mainly to create infrastructure for the project.

The chawkie rearing centre in Udumalpet would be inaugurated soon and cocoon production would commence within a month. The company was aiming at production of 150 tonnes of silk and 900 tonnes of cocoon in a year.

In the second phase, it planned to tie up with large-scale farmers (those with 50 to 200 acres each) only for mulberry cultivation.

It would buy the mulberry leaves from them and supply it to the farmers who were into cocoon rearing, said Mr. Ramaraj.

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