To bring back silk's lost past, the government wants to expand the silk industry in 42 upazilas of 30 districts. To this end, the Ministry of Textiles and Jute has taken up a project titled "Integrated plan for the expansion and development of the silk industry in Bangladesh (second phase)". The Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board will implement it at a cost of Tk 49.73 crore.

The information comes from the planning ministry.

The silk industry is an important part of Bangladesh's history and heritage. About 600,000 farmers in Bangladesh are involved in the silk industry, including 100,000 silk cocoon producers.

The government-funded project was due to start in July this year and end in June 2024. Shyam Kishore Roy, director general of the Sericulture Development Board, told Jago News that if the project is implemented, it will expand and develop silk farming and industry in Bangladesh and raise production of quality cocoons and silk yarn.

He said the sector lacks skilled people. Through technical training at various stages of silk farming and industry, the project will make it possible to build a skilled workforce. It will also create jobs for the unemployed and for women, helping to reduce poverty and improve the socio-economic condition of rural people.

According to the planning ministry, a project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting on the project was held on 25 March this year, and recommended approval subject to certain conditions. On 30 June the Ministry of Textiles and Jute sent the project plan, incorporating the PEC decisions, to the Planning Commission. The three-year project is reported to have received the planning minister's approval.

The silk board says there are currently about 80 small and medium privately owned silk factories in Bangladesh. Most of the industry's raw material is still imported.

About 500 tonnes of raw silk is imported each year to meet annual demand; only 10 percent of demand can be met locally. People involved in the sector believe there is no alternative to meeting silk demand locally if the industry is to be revolutionised. A similar project was taken up earlier to develop the silk industry, and the second phase has been taken up in light of it, according to the planning ministry's Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).

IMED has already completed the completion evaluation of the project titled "Integrated plan for the expansion and development of the silk industry in Bangladesh (second revised)".

Project director Mousumi Jahan Kanta told Jago News that the project's DPP has been prepared and it is now awaiting approval.

On the project's aims, she said: "Through this project we want to create jobs by involving the extreme poor, the landless and women in silk farming. Through training we can also build capacity in silk farming and meet domestic demand by increasing production of cocoons and raw silk."

She said the project also aims to increase mulberry cultivation in the country and to expand silk farming using a farming method to raise commercial silk production.

Silk yarn was once used only to make saris, but products and designs have since diversified. Silk garments for people of all ages and classes are being made in factories in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Thakurgaon and Gazipur. Silk farming has also reached the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Most of the country's silk products are made in Rajshahi, where the Sericulture Development Board also has its headquarters. Rajshahi silk has become a name for heritage worldwide. On 26 April this year, World Intellectual Property Day, Rajshahi silk received formal recognition as a geographical indication (GI) product.

Sharifa Khan, member (secretary) of the planning ministry's Industry and Energy Division, said the project will be implemented in 42 upazilas of 30 districts in the Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, Dhaka and Chattogram divisions. The proposed project is on the list of unapproved new projects without allocation in this year's Annual Development Programme (ADP). It will create opportunities for marketing silk products, she said.

People involved say that if the project is implemented, the market reach and demand for Bangladeshi silk will grow, and the product will become part of heritage in the world market.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.