Bangladesh Silk Development Board (BSDB) has planned a mega project involving around Taka 1,000 crore aimed at revitalizing the traditional silk sector, reports BSS. It has also adopted an effective step of re-launching 23 more looms of the now partially functional Rajshahi Silk Factory within the near future, said Abdul Hakim, Director General of BSDB, adding that the factory had remained dysfunctional since 2002.
After a long 16-year of its closure six looms were re-launched on July 27, 2018 and subsequently five more looms. In this way, 19 looms have, so far, been re-launched as the government has taken initiative to revive the silk industry. Abdul Hakim said there is a plan of re-launching 23 more looms within next July that will raise the number of re-launched looms to 42.
He informed 7,891 yards of silk clothes have, so far, been manufactured since the re-launching of the factory and silk clothes valued at around Taka 9.50 lakh were sold. At least 15 metric tons of silk yarn could be manufactured along with job creation scope for around 10,000 people if we can resume all the 58 looms in the factory, he added.
Market promotion works are also being progressed. Sericulture and silk industry, by its nature, is a family based labor-intensive economic activity that provides employment for the rural people. The BSDB boss said diversified steps were taken to improve the silk sector setting the target of producing 100 tonnes of silk yarn annually.
Target has also been taken to extend financial support to around 1,000 silk farmers through bringing them under social safety net programme. “We have plans of importing improved cocoon and mulberry plants,” he added.
At present, the BSDB has been implementing three projects involving around Taka 96.83 crore with the main thrust of improving living and livelihood condition of the targeted grassroots people particularly the poor and distressed women through substantial and sustainable development of the traditional silk sector.
Headquartered in Rajshahi, the BSDB is implementing the projects in almost throughout the country particularly the potential ones for the silk farming and rearing with the main thrust of achieving the sustainable development goals in light of the Government’s Seventh Five Year Plan.
Abdul Hakim said the projects will sure supplementing the government efforts of building social safety net side by side with transforming the villages into towns in phases upon successful implementation of those by 2023. Main objective of the five-year project titled “Sericulture Extension and Development” is to generate employment of around 50,000 hardcore poor and
landless women for elevating their socio-economic condition through involving them in sericulture.
Another five-year project styled “Poverty Reduction in Hilly Chattogram Districts through Extension and Development of Sericulture” is being implemented in the hilly districts with the main thrusts of freeing around 15,000 extreme poor and landless women from poverty through their engagement in silk-related income generation activities.
Another 15,000 poor and distressed women will get scopes of improving their living and livelihood condition through intervention of another five- year project titled “Poverty Reduction in Greater Rangpur districts through Extension of Sericulture”.
Hakim said 620-bigha mulberry grounds will be developed and maintained side by side with production and distribution of 23.5 lakh silk-eggs and 23 lakh mulberry saplings among the farmers through implementation of the projects. 37 ideal silk villages and 500 mulberry blocks will be established side by side with purchasing 43,000-kilogram silk-cocoons from the growers.
More than 4,800 farmers will be given input supports of silk-rearing and 6,300 others get necessary assistance of mulberry transplantation. Under the schemes, 7,700 farmers will be given training on mulberry plants rearing, silkworm nursing and yarn reeling.
Six chawki rearing-cum-display centres and one silk reeling weaving training centre will be built. He said sericulture has a huge prospect if we could nurture it properly as there is a huge potential export market for our silk.
