Bodoland Silk Industry Revives with Pre-Cocoon Support

Quick Summary:

• The Bodoland Sericulture Mission, launched in 2023 in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), has rejuvenated the traditional silk industry, especially focusing on the pre-cocoon activities.
• Pre-cocoon support includes improved host plants like mulberry, rearing equipment, rearing centers for young silkworms, disinfectants for disease prevention, and healthy silkworm seeds.
• Annual incomes for silkworm farmers have risen from ₹70,000 to ₹100,000 due to these initiatives; future targets aim to reach ₹150,000. The mission supports 2,670 households across BTR.
• Post-cocoon efforts trained 1,275 beneficiaries (mostly women) and provided Eri spinning machines and certified weaving technology through agencies like NEHHDC and Central Silk Board.
• Eri raw silk constitutes 97.17% of the BTR’s total silk production (1,510 MT projected in FY 2024-25). BTR contributes approximately 30% of Assam’s Eri production and over 20% of India’s.
• Two spun mills at Barama (baksa district) and Adabari (Kokrajhar district) employ over 450 people with a combined capacity to produce more than four metric tonnes of Eri yarn annually.
• Overall efforts have strengthened household incomes while ensuring consistent supply chains for weavers and MSMEs.

Indian Opinion Analysis:

The initiatives under the Bodoland Sericulture Mission underscore a significant shift toward enduring empowerment within rural economies in northeast India. By concentrating on pre-cocoon support activities-such as technical improvements for host plants and disease-free silkworm cultures-this program addresses core bottlenecks inhibiting productivity in sericulture. The subsequent increases in incomes suggest measurable progress alongside deeper financial resilience among families engaged in this traditionally marginalized sector.

The inclusion of post-cocoon training further extends economic benefits by fostering skill progress among artisans-many of whom are women-and enabling access to certified technologies that enhance both output quality and market viability. Such targeted interventions could serve as a replicable model across india’s northeastern states facing structural challenges.

With its strategic collaboration between agencies like BTC governance bodies and ministries of textiles alongside corporate entities such as NTPC-Bongaigaon or World Bank-sponsored projects-the program highlights convergent public-private policy frameworks pushing rural industries forward sustainably. As India’s share grows globally via GI-tagged cultural products like Bodo Eri Silk woven here-back increased-sericultural presence non only boosts ‘local “brand heritage” but strengthens national export narratives amid regional tightly holistic certifications tracing authenticity loops!

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