Government committed to revitalizing silk sector

The present government is pledge bound to revitalize the silk sector by boosting local yarn production. Various timely measures were adopted so the lost glory of the silk sector can be revived in the near future.

Secretary of Textile and Jute Ministry, Mijanur Rahman, said this addressing a view-sharing meeting with officials and employees of the Bangladesh Silk Development Board (BSDB) at its conference hall in Rajshahi city on Saturday.

He urged the BSDB people to discharge their duties with utmost competency, sincerity, and honesty, to support the government endeavor of advancing the silk sector.

Chaired by BSDB Director General Abdul Hakim, the meeting was addressed among others, by its Members, Syeda Zebinnissa Sultana, Nasima Khatun, and Abdul Mannan, and Director of Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute (BSRTI), Monsur Ali.

Secretary Mijanur Rahman said importance should be given to providing the necessary support, and inputs like disinfectant eggs, high yielding mulberry plants, technical support, and soft loans for construction of rearing houses, along with ensuring sound marketing facilities.

Mr Rahman said sericulture, a labor-intensive agro-based industry, is ideally suited to the socioeconomic condition of the country and the sector covers both agriculture and industry.

Referring to various positive aspects of the sector he also said promotion and expansion of sericulture throughout the country could contribute a lot to eradicating the acute poverty of many people in  rural Bangladesh.

As a cottage industry, all family members can work and earn a supplementary income in sericulture, and it facilitates four to five crops a year, ensuring a greater income, while requiring less investment and training.

Abdul Hakim told the meeting that BSDB has taken an initiative to revive the silk industry. Accordingly, several projects have already been adopted. A project has been undertaken to identify char and khas lands for silk farming.

In the last fiscal year, the board distributed four lakh mulberry saplings. Sericulture has been incorporated in the "Ekti Bari, Ekti Khamar (EBEK)" project for strengthening the agro-based economy by reviving the lost glory of sericulture.

Under the joint venture, around 275,000 mulberry plants were distributed among 1,680 EBEK members. Some 777 of them were given need-based training on how to plant and nurse the plants properly.

He said two state-owned silk factories can be restarted in phases by boosting the production of raw silk locally. Through this, about 10,000 people in the region will gain employment opportunities.

On the occasion, the secretary accompanied by BSDB officials, visited different sections of a silk factory and BSRTI.