RAJSHAHI, Sept 16, 2022 (BSS)- Bangladesh Silk Development Board (BSDB) has 
been implementing three projects involving around Taka 96.83 crore aimed at 
improving living and livelihood condition of the targeted grassroots people 
particularly the poor and distressed women through substantial and 
sustainable development of the traditional silk sector.
 
Headquartered in Rajshahi, the BSDB is implementing the projects almost 
throughout the country particularly the potential ones for the silk farming 
and rearing with the main thrust of achieving the sustainable development 
goals in light of the Government's Seventh Five Year Plan.
 
BSDB Director General Shyam Kishore Roy said the projects will supplement the 
government efforts of building social safety net side by side with 
transforming the villages into towns in phases upon successful implementation 
of those by 2023. 
 
Main objective of the five-year project titled "Sericulture Extension and 
Development" is to generate employment of around 50,000 hardcore poor and 
landless women for elevating their socio-economic condition through involving 
them in sericulture.
 
Another five-year project styled "Poverty Reduction in Hilly Chattogram 
Districts through Extension and Development of Sericulture" is being 
implemented in the hilly districts with the main thrusts of freeing around 
15,000 extreme poor and landless women from poverty through their engagement 
in silk-related income generation activities.
 
Another 15,000 poor and distressed women will get scope of improving their 
living and livelihood condition through intervention of another five-year 
project titled "Poverty Reduction in Greater Rangpur districts through 
Extension of Sericulture".
 
Shyam Kishore said 620-bigha mulberry grounds will be developed and 
maintained side by side with production and distribution of 23.5 lakh silk-
eggs and 23 lakh mulberry saplings among the farmers through implementation 
of the projects.
 
"We are establishing 37 ideal silk villages and 500 mulberry blocks," he 
said, adding that 43,000-kilogram silk-cocoons will be purchased from the 
growers.
 
More than 4,800 farmers are being given input support of silk-rearing and 
6,300 others get necessary assistance for mulberry transplantation.
 
Under the schemes, 7,700 farmers are being imparted training on mulberry 
plant rearing, silkworm nursing and yarn reeling.
 
Six chawki rearing-cum-display centres and one silk reeling weaving training 
centre will be built.
 
Director General Shyam Kishore said the government has taken initiative to 
revive the silk industry.
 
Market promotion works are also being progressed. The sericulture and silk 
industry, by its nature, is a family based labor-intensive economic activity 
that provides employment for the rural people.
 
He said initiative has been taken to re-launch the Rajshahi and Thakurgaon 
Silk Factories fully. Five in Rajshahi Silk Factory has already been resumed. 
 
At least 15 metric tons of silk yarn could be manufactured along with job 
creation scope for around 10,000 people if we can resume all the 58 looms in 
the two state-owned factories, he added.
 
He said sericulture has a huge prospect if we could nurture it properly as 
there is a huge potential export market for our silk. Kishore, however, said 
BSDB has a plan of bringing Chinese experts to train the local farmers that 
will help boosting silk production.