Imphal, November 27 2010: Considering the climatic conditions, the kind of soil available and various other factors, Manipur can be termed a god gifted land when it comes to sericulture, said Dr K Nimaichand, District Sericulture Officer, Thoubal.

Dr.Nimaichand delivering a lecture on sericulture on the concluding day of the Bharat Nirman Campaign at Bishnunaha Community Hall, Yairipok, asserted that sericulture would not only help in generating much needed income but would also, if taken up sincerely, lead to prosperity of this land and its people.

Under sericulture comes the process starting from rearing silk worms to production of silk yarns to the final finished silk products in terms of garments and textiles.

There are four types of silk depending on the type of worm and the plant on which it feeds: 1 Mulberry, 2 Ire, 3 Tasar and 4 Muga.

Manipur is one of the rare state where all these four types of silk are found, explained Dr Nimaichand in course of his lecture.

There are several factors why people who are interested in enhancing their income should take up sericulture.

Firstly, sericulture requires very little investment, it has very short gestation period (takes only about a month to produce cocoons), can be practiced almost throughout the year and raise multiple cropping.

If taken up successfully, the produce because of huge demands can be marketed at national and even international level.

Taking about specific programmes taken up under the Japan Sericulture Project, Dr Nimaichand informed that 1000 Field Operating Units( FOU) have been set up in the state out of which there are 132 FOUs in Thoubal District.

FOUs are run by 5 like minded members who has 2 hectares of land on which they are supposed to plant 15,000 plants.

On part of the same 2 hectare a rearing house will also be built as part of the project.

As part of the policy to empower women, care is taken to ensure that at least three out of the five members of an FOU are women.

For individuals interested in taking up sericulture, they can take advantage of the Catalytic Development Programme which is run by the Central Silk Board, Bangalore under the Ministry of Textile, Government of India.

One condition for applying under this scheme being that the person in question should have one acre of land at his disposal.

Dr Nimaichand, DSO, Thoubal admitted that the Japan Sericulture Project is not a resounding success as was expected given the naturally favourable conditions.

While some areas and individuals have had relative success, the same is not true for many other areas and individuals.

Some of reason according to the DSO is the inability to properly monitor the progress of the ongoing project because of lack of staff as also the failure to motivate the farmers adequately.

Comment