Need for research on sericulture, business underscored

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RAJSHAHI, Oct 26 (BSS): Speakers at a scientific seminar here Sunday underscored the need for need-based research on sericulture and its business with a view to stimulating this sector in the greater national interest.
They referred to the glory of sericulture sector and said its revival would contribute a lot to the country's socio- economic development with creating job opportunities and marketing its products.
With this in view, the participants in the seminar said an intensive research has now become very essential in the fields of mulberry farming, leaf processing, cocoon rearing and silk manufacturing in the country.
Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute (BSRTI) under its Sericulture Research Development and Technology Extension programme organised the seminar on "National Sericulture Research and Technology Transfer."
Senior Research Officers of BSRTI Abdul Hamid Mian and Khanom Toufa Haque presented two scientific papers in the technical session, moderated by former director of the Institute Dr Abdul Aziz Sarker.
Ministry of Textile and Jute joint secretary Sarder Abul Kalam and Bangladesh Silk Industry Owners' Association president Merajul Alam was the chief guest and the special guest respectively with BSRTI director Dr Abdul Kader in the chair.
Former Vice-chancellor of Rajshahi University Prof Dr Anisur Rahman, former director of BSRTI Dr Rabbel Ali, Silk Industrialist Sadar Ali and Prof Dr Abdul Mannan of Rajshahi College took part in the open discussion.
About 100 researchers and scientists from different agricultural research institutions as well as government and non- government organisations attended the seminar.
They said sericulture, a labour-intensive agro-based industry, is ideally suited to the socio-economic condition of the country covering both agriculture and industry. Promotion and expansion of sericulture throughout the country can be helpful to eradicate poverty in rural Bangladesh, they said.
The speakers said all family members could earn their bread and butter from sericulture, which yielded four to five crops a year ensuring more income with less investment.
Sericulture also provides fuel, manure, poultry feed and fodder besides cocoon crop and mulberry, the only food plant for silkworm, which ensured leaf supply for about 30 to 35 years.