Bhubaneswar: The state government has drawn up an ambitious plan to invest Rs 274 crore over the next five years to promote the development of all four varieties of silk produced in the state, Textiles and Handlooms Director Somesh Kumar Upadhyay announced Friday.
As part of efforts to strengthen the sericulture sector, the government will organise 11 training programmes within a year to train 165 beneficiaries in their mother tongue, Upadhyay added.
The state is also taking steps to establish serisheds for cocoon rearing, introduce insurance coverage for sericulture farmers, and provide special hostel facilities and training op portunities for women engaged in sericulture. Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts department Com missioner-cum-Secretary Gu ha Poonam Tapas Kumar said, “Sericulture has emerged as a sustainable, year-round livelihood option that offers stable and profitable income opportunities to rural households.”
Speaking at the inauguration of the first farmers’ training programme on ‘Tasar host plant nursery and its management’ organised by Odisha State Sericulture Research and Training Institute (OSSR&TI) here. “Nearly 15,000 traditional families involving around one lakh people are currently dependent on sericulture in Odisha,” she said.
India produces four major varieties of silk—Mulberry, Tasar, Eri and Muga—each differing in host plants, life cycle, cocoon characteristics, silk quality, structure, colour and strength. Tasar cultivation continues to be a traditional agricultural practice in Odisha, with more than 46,828 Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste families engaged in the activity across 14 hilly districts, including Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jajpur, Boudh, Sonepur, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Nabarangpur. The state produces over 50,000 tasar cocoons annually, generating nearly Rs 6 crore in income for tribal farmers with relatively low investment in seed material.
Eri sericulture is also widely practised in state across districts such as Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Khordha, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Sundargarh. Eri cultivation currently covers around 1,000 acres and supports nearly 2,000 farmers. Annual production stands at approximately seven metric tonnes of Eri cocoons, valued at around Rs 14 lakh.
Mulberry sericulture remains another important traditional activity and is carried out in 12 districts, including Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Nayagarh, Khordha, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj. Odisha produces an average of 40,000 kg of Mulberry cocoons annually, helping nearly 1,000 ST and SC farmers generate around Rs 50 lakh in yearly income.
Highlighting the government’s broader strategy for strengthening the sector, Guha reiterated its commitment to improving the livelihoods of sericulture farmers and announced plans to revive the spinning unit at Bhagamunda in Keonjhar district. She also acknowledged the contribution of farmers, noting that Odisha secured the top position in the sericulture review conducted by the Central Silk Board, attributing the achievement to the sustained efforts of the state’s sericulture community.