Sericulture as a Sustainable Tool for Economic Development of Small and Marginal Farmers

Author: Vani Sree K., Upendhar S., Rajsekhar M., Prashanth Reddy R. and Mahesh M.

Journal Name:

Download PDF

Abstract

The experiment was carried at Sericulture Production and Marketing Unit at Agricultural College, Jagtial, PJTSAU. The final year B.Sc. (Ag.) students from 2012-13 to 2017-18 as a part of their Agricultural Experiential Learning Programme (AELP) have been trained in sericulture. As a part of their AELP they undergone rigorous training in rearing techniques and handling skills of sericulture at Department of Entomology, Agricultural College, Jagtial. The rearing skills of silkworms are essential for the success of the sericulture. The results clearly showed that sericulture will be a dependable industry especially for small and marginal farmers with minimum investment, low gestation period and high net returns. The production of cocoons and net profits increased as we progressed from 2012-13 to 2017-18 and few students who are passionate and impressed by the results turned out to be entrepreneurs in sericulture after their graduation.

Keywords

Sericulture, Mulberry, Silkworm, Chawki rearing, Late age larval rearing, Cocoon production and Agricultural Experiential Learning Programme (AELP)

Conclusion

Sericulture is the most important cash crop with minimum investment, low gestation period and high net returns. Sericulture is suitable for every section of society including a big farmer to a landless person irrespective of gender. It involves simple skill, which is easy to understand and adopt. Thus, Sericulture has provided employment and income generation in rural and semi-urban areas, high participation for low-income and socially under privileged groups. Based on the earlier experiences it has been observed that there are several advantages in sericulture, including an established rearing system, cost effectiveness, reproducible, health applications, no ethical issues and no danger of biohazard. Thus, it is being the utmost labor intensive division, which provides many opportunities for employment generation. Silk proteins like sericin and fibroin have various applications in many versatile fields as excellent biomaterials to be used beyond their traditional applications in textiles industry. Silkworm is an excellent tool for drug screening in biomedical wings also. So, new races and value addition to the cocoons will be very useful and worthy to enhance the profits for the farmers.

References

-

How to cite this article

Vani Sree K., Upendhar S., Rajsekhar M., Prashanth Reddy R. and Mahesh M. (2023). Sericulture as a Sustainable Tool for Economic Development of Small and Marginal Farmers. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(7): 248-252.