Problems and Prospects of Sericulture

Abstract:

Sericulture in Bangladesh has a long history and glory. Bengal Silk was very prominent for its very good quality all over the Asia. In 1947, after the partition of India two sericulture nurseries situated in Mirgonj (Rajshahi) and Bogra and some silk growing areas of Bholahat (Chapai-Nawabgonj) and Mirgonj were fallen in the part of the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Afterwards a massive sericulture development program had been under taken. under that program 10 sericulture nurseries, one silk pilot project & silk research & training institute at Rajshahi were established in the country. In 1971 Bangladesh emerged as an independent country. From 1947 to 1977 Sericulture activities were looked after by organizations like Directorate of Industries and BSCIC. With a view to expand sericulture throughout the country a separate organization "Bangladesh Sericulture Board (BSB)" started functioning from February, 1978 with its Headquarters at Rajshahi - the Silk City. Bangladesh has a long history in silk production because of its agro-climatic advantages, but this industry failed to realize its full potential because of Government's interventionist policies resulting in distorted production and marketing incentives in rearing and reeling activities which demotivated local private enterprise to modernize. In 1977 Government set up the Bangladesh Sericulture Board (BSB) to provide support to the silk industry. Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute (BSRTI) is the research and training arm of BSB.

In Bangladesh lac culture dates back to the same period as in India. In the Nawabganj district lac culture is one of the regular occupations of many local people. However, only the sticklac is produced. In Talaimari areas of Rajshahi city there are more than 100 cottage industries where shellac is extracted from the sticklac produced in Nawabganj.

Materials and method:

This is a review paper.All data are secondary data and have collected from internet.

Discussion:

Problems of Silk Industries

In present days silk industries are facing many problems & obstacles. According to some industrialists silk industries are now at stake. There are a lot of risks become visible to the development of silk industries. Among them insufficient government patronization is main. Due to lack of enough financial assistance, lack of proper management, bureaucratic complexity government cannot help this industry. Financial problems of the entrepreneurs are also a major problem of silk industries. Insufficient raw materials & import based raw materialsincrease the risk very much. There are also many other risks at the silk industries.

Problems : 1) Industrial problems

* Insufficient Government patronization

* Financial Problems

* Import Based Raw Materials

* Insufficient Raw Materials

* High Production Cost

* Lack of Skilled Labor

* High Cost of Imported Thread

* Insufficient Bank Loan and High Interest

* Lack of Proper Management

* Lack of Modern Technology

* Extortion

* Load Shedding

* Continuous development of synthetic fibre.

2) Hindrance to the Development of Mulberry Production

Mulberry production is an essential part of silk production. It is the initial part also. But in our country mulberry production is very limited. It is not only for the reluctance of farmers rather many reasons are responsible behind the non-production of mulberry in our country.

Among them some significant causes are lack of land, good seeds, disease of trees, lack of patronization of government & NGOs, lack of entrepreneur etc. In Rajshahi most of the farmers are interested in the production of mainly mango, vegetables & rice. Mulberry production is a time consuming, laborious production. So that the farmers are losing their interest in cultivating mulberry.

* Lack of Land

* Lake of Good Seed

* Diseases of the Tree

* Import of Spin

* Lack of Patronization

* Lack of Entrepreneur

* Unskilled Labor

* Negligence of Labor

* Lack of Modern Technology

* Lack of Financial Support

* Ancient Cultivation System

* Climate

* Every year about 300 hectares of land is used for cultivation that can produce only 180 Metric Tons, (Alam and Sarker, 2000)

Possibilities of Development of Silk Industries

In spite of all the obstacles, there are still some possibilities in mulberry production. Rajshahi has perfect soil for mulberry production. Its climate & weather condition are also very suitable for mulberry production. Low labor cost and developed transport & communication system influence the increase of mulberry production in Rajshahi. There are also some rosy possibilities of mulberry production discussed in the following table.

* Perfect Soil

* Climate and Weather

* Increase of Land Amount

* Government Support

* Specific Salary Structure

* Research for Good Silk

* Long Term Plan

* Non Government Loan (low interest)

* Increase in Silk Product

* Developed Transport and Communication

Expectation to the Silk Board

The owner of the silk industries though are very disappointed on the role of silk board to the development of silk industries, they are still expecting some assistance from the board. Most of the small industrialists demand debt from the silk board with simple condition. invention