BANDIPORA: The Sericulture Development Department, Bandipora, today facilitated an exposure visit for 80 sericulture farmers, including farmers from tribal communities, under Silk Samagra-2/Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), as part of the Human Resource Development (HRD) component.
The participating farmers from Chittebanday, C.A. Khan and other sericulture villages of the district visited various important sericulture institutions and facilities to gain practical knowledge and firsthand experience of scientific mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, cocoon production and silk processing.
As part of the programme, the farmers visited P4 Basic Seed Farm, Central Silk Board, Mansbal, Ganderbal; College of Temperate Sericulture, SKUAST-K, Mirgund; Basic Seed Station, Mirgund, Baramulla; and Government Silk Factory, Rajbagh, Srinagar.
The visit aimed to provide field-level exposure to improved sericulture practices, including scientific mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing techniques, disease and pest management, seed production, cocoon production and silk processing.
During the visit, the farmers also interacted with technical experts and field functionaries and gained an understanding of various stages of the sericulture value chain. The exposure is expected to enhance their technical capacities and encourage adoption of modern and scientific practices for improving cocoon yield, quality and farm income.
The Department stated that such capacity-building and exposure programmes form an important component of its efforts to strengthen the sericulture sector in District Bandipora, particularly by extending technical knowledge and institutional exposure to farmers from tribal and other rural communities.
