Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Ganesh Joshi said that the department has achieved remarkable achievements by speeding up the silkworm seed production work in the state. Last year, the department produced 312 metric tonnes of mulberry cocoons, 55,352 oktsar cocoons and 10 thousand kg of eri silk cocoons, which benefited about 9 thousand farmer families.
He informed that since the formation of the state, the Silk Department was dependent on the Central Silk Board, Government of India for silkworm seed production, on which a huge amount had to be spent. But at present, the department has achieved self-sufficiency by producing 7 lakh DFLs in the spring crop itself. Now Uttarakhand is capable of supplying silkworm seeds to other states as well.
On the instructions of the departmental minister Ganesh Joshi, a proposal of Rs 13.91 crore was sent by the department to the Central Silk Board. Under this proposal, approval has been received for the establishment of mulberry and wild silk clusters. So far, an allocation of Rs 3 crore has been received for one Mulberry and one Vanya cluster, while funds will be available soon for the remaining 4 clusters. These clusters will provide employment opportunities to 450 families of the state and increase the income of farmers.
Under the Gramin Udyam Veg Vriddhi Project, 90 thousand mulberry plants were planted by selecting 300 women beneficiaries in 13 districts last year. These beneficiaries are being linked to silk production by giving them training in cocoon craft and silk yarn making.
In Yamkeshwar development block of district Pauri, mulberry plantation has been done on 300 acres of land by Devbhoomi Silk Farmers Organization, due to which 600 farmers are associated with silkworm rearing. In future, silk yarn making and textile production work is also proposed in this area, which will provide large scale employment at the local level.
The production of silk sarees has been started in the state by setting up three powerlooms in Growth Center Selaqui under Uttarakhand Co-operative Silk Federation. In the year 2024-25, 45 thousand meters of cloth has been produced. In the coming year 2025-26, it is proposed to establish ‘Silk House’ in Dehradun with the help of Silk Mark of India. Along with this, Silk Expo will also be organized in Dehradun in the month of September.
