Silk farmers likely to suffer this season

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 16 OCT.: Farmers in Malda may face a crisis of silk worm egg in Aghrayani crop season, believed to be the best commercial crop season, due to the scarcity of parental seed cocoon.

Producers of silk worm egg including the government and private sector had faced a lot of problem while collecting exotic high breed variety of parental seeds from Karnataka, the main source for Malda farmers, due to recent natural calamity there.

To meet up the demand and to produce silk worm eggs, the private egg producers, with the help of state authorities, have collected parental seed cocoon not only from Kashmir, Dehradun but from Bangalore and Koraput in Orissa.

According to the Malda sericulture department, though the government rate for parental seed was Rs 120 per kg but it was sold off at Rs 300 per kg this year in Gazole, a notified area for seed cultivation, and other places in this district due to this scarcity.

The sericulture officials are not in a position to estimate the shortfall of silk worm eggs according to its requirement in this district because the production of silk worm eggs is in process only for this Aghrayani crop season.

The state sericulture department has decided to distribute silk worm eggs between 24 to 28 October.“It is difficult to estimate the shortfall of silk worm eggs right now. After some days we will be able to estimate the shortfall.

“We had a hard time to bring and supply the parental seed cocoon for production of eggs from other states so that all farmers can cultivate high breed variety in this commercial crop season”, said Mr S Das, deputy director of sericulture in Malda.

According to him, the total requirement of silk worm egg is 70 lakh units. Since the past two years farmers are interested in producing high breed silk cocoon in Aghrayani commercial season.

According to farmers, two years ago the rate of silk cocoon was Rs.2400 for 40 kg (Ak-Mon) but at present rate is nearly Rs.5, 500 for 40 kg.

The deputy director Mr S Das said: “We expect that this year the rate would go up to Rs 6, 000 for 40 kg based on demand from south India. Due to natural calamity the production of silk in south India will be suffered and traders from across the country would try to collect cocoon from this region”.