Sericulture courses prepare students for sustainable agricultural entrepreneurship

Sericulture, the signifier of breeding and raising silkworms to nutrient earthy silk, has emerged arsenic a feasible income procreation option, particularly successful farming districts with h2o scarcity issues. Many agriculture colleges person added courses connected sericulture, and moriculture (the cultivation of high-yielding mulberry leaves utilized to provender the silkworms), to assistance beforehand agri-business models from an aboriginal stage, particularly among agrarian youth.

“Sericulture is an fantabulous instrumentality for agrarian reconstruction successful Tamil Nadu. Farmers successful Cauvery Delta territory look captious challenges similar h2o scarcity, clime change, procurement problems, rising input costs and dependence connected recognition facilities that person resulted successful mediocre economical returns. Sericulture has go an important ancillary to the paddy-based cropping system,” R. Rajkumar, main scientist, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Pudukottai, told The Hindu.

An concern of little than ₹15,000 was capable to cultivate mulberry and silkworm rearing successful 1 acre, said Mr. Rajkumar. The perennial harvest volition enactment silkworm rearing up to 20 years. A six-month-old mulberry works tin nutrient leaves with required standards for initiating the silkworm rearing.

Due to its economical potential, respective agriculture colleges person started offering certificate courses successful sericulture.

“We connection a abbreviated experiential people to astir 40 students successful commercialized cocoon accumulation during the eighth semester arsenic portion of our B.Sc. Agriculture degree. Students rise a mulberry plot and past larn silkworm rearing with eggs bought from certified chawki centres. They are excited to spot the applicable broadside of the lessons they person been learning from textbooks,” said K. Haripriya, adjunct professor, Department of Agricultural Entomology, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Agriculture College, Perambalur.

Sericulture could assistance students commencement earning, and generating employment for others adjacent arsenic they were successful college, said Ms. Haripriya. “Commercial chawki rearing centres tin beryllium precise profitable. Many radical are moving tiny industries with the assistance of silk reeling machinery,” she said.

At the Palar Agricultural College, Kothamarikuppam, Vellore District, sericulture has been added arsenic a taxable to amusement students however to make silk accumulation arsenic a business. “We person a mini portion wherever cocoon rearing and silk extraction is taught successful a applicable module,” said main N.Tamilselvan.

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) offers grade and diploma programmes successful sericulture.

“After graduation, agrarian younker look unemployment owed to varied socio-economic reasons. An entrepreneurship-driven people similar sericulture successful Arts and Science colleges provides students with technological cognition and applicable skills. It besides creates employment opportunities successful activities specified arsenic mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, cocoon harvesting, silk reeling, and weaving,” said Mr. Rajkumar.