Sericulture becomes popular among Chitwan farmers

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bharatpur, Dec 21: Sericulture, which was somehow ignored by Chitwan villagers initially, is now getting popular among them. In 1994, only ten farmers were involved in this occupation. Four years later, the number more than doubled but that was a slow growth, to be sure.

"Since 1998, the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and the Government reached an accord to develop sericulture as part of a programme to reduce poverty. After that more farmers took up sericulture," said Yam Prasad Poudel, an officer at Agriculture Development Office, Chitwan.

Agriculture Development Office, Sericulture Development Office and a support organization for village development called Nepal Sericulture Organization of Chitwan jointly established a mulberry bush garden to promote sericulture in about seventy hectares of land.

Both the government and non-government organizations have joined hands to support related farmers under a Sericulture Development Programme in the district, according to District Agriculture Development Office.

Poudel, who is also responsible to oversee development of sericulture in the district, says: "Last year this programme was run as a package programme. Now this is a government’s project and it is being extended to other areas as well."

Farmers have now constituted twenty-four groups to support themselves. Madi, a rural area of the district, is regarded as the pocket area. The government has given emphasis to four villages in Madi for the development of Sericulture.

Besides, Sukra Nagar and Shaktikhor VDCs are also regarded as the pocket area for the project.

With all this, Chitwan compares with other districts growing mulberry plants – the district produces nearly 5 tonnes of kernel every year.

According to related technician, one farmer could earn up to Rs 10,000 from 3 katthas of land. "This is not a big money and the occupation is not more profitable than vegetable farming, so we are finding it tough to involve a huge number of employees to support the task," said Poudel. "The farmers take this as a part time job."

Now-a-days local people have been using barren lands to grow the Mulberry plants. But there is lack of incubation houses cocoons. Here is where the concerned organizations are coming in to help the farmers –they are setting up three incubation houses in the near future.

There are five stages involved in sericulture. Of them, three stages need incubation houses. Farmers manage on their own to keep the babies for the remaining two stages. "The baby stage needs a lot of care from the farmers," says a technician.

There are other problems as well —the lack of transport and absence of the modern equipment.