RAJSHAHI: Many rural people have got the path of improving their living standard through boosting local silk yarn production, reports BSS.

In Bagha and Charghat upazilas, most of the villagers are farming silkworm sericulture side by side with their regular household activities with the assistance of Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board (BSDB).

With a view to promoting sericulture and its industry through entrepreneurship development at different levels of production, the BSDB has set up an ideal sericulture village at Meerganj, said Sirajul Islam, member (Extension) of BSBD.

The five-year project titled “Extension and Development of Sericulture in Public and Private sector in Bangladesh” was implemented across the country involving Taka 300 million, he said.

Under the project, 23 ideal sericulture villages were established in the potential areas as a model to improve capacity of small and marginal farmers to establish high yielding mulberry garden and produce superior quality of silk cocoon.

The multidisciplinary activities provide unique job opportunities to the marginal farmers, landless poor, rural and contribute a lot to poverty reduction, he added.

He said,” There are around 80 small and medium silk factories in private sector with a capacity of manufacturing 25.50 million meters fabrics annually.”

Apart from this, there are about 10,000 private handlooms with capacity of producing 30 million meters silk fabric.

Sirajul Islam said the project is developing suitable mulberry and silkworm varieties besides producing and supplying superior quality of mulberry saplings.

In addition to arrangement of training for 2,130 farmers, 330 people are being provided with improved training on reeling, weaving and dyeing and printing.

Another 700 farmers, 200 spinners and 200 silk weavers are being given need-based training to improve their working efficiency in the field for improvement of rearing of mulberry trees and silkworm.

Liakat Ali, President of Bangladesh Silk Industry Owners Association, said boosting production of local yarn can help revitalising the silk sector to regain its lost legacy alongside meeting the existing local demands.