Tasar Sericulture Providing Promising Livelihood Option to Farmers in Keonjhar Dist

Keonjhar: Tasar sericulture is providing promising livelihood option to the farmers in Keonjhar district.

With the support from District Mineral Foundation (DMF), Keonjhar, tasar host trees plantation, construction of mega nursery and basic seeds production unit (BSPU) have been initiated in the district.
Around 6600 farmers have been getting the benefit of such a comprehensive intervention in tasar silk promotion in the district.

Plantation of tasar host trees like Asan and Arjun in 600 hectares will support local Tasar rearing families with more avenues for livelihood.

Tasar is a silk variety primarily used for clothing, furnishings, and interiors. The initiative has been taken up through DMF funds in convergence with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Two mega nurseries are coming up in Banspal and Harichandanpur. This initiative is going to help the tasar rearing farmers in getting healthy Asan and Arjun saplings. Apart from this two numbers of BSPU construction have been started in these two blocks to provide Disease Free Laying (DFLs) in the locality.

Through tasar silk promotion, the district administration aims to promote sustainable, participatory livelihood development in the mining-affected areas of Keonjhar through plantation of tasar host trees and create a dependable plantation asset base for tasar rearer in a cluster approach in the tasar growing areas of the district.

The district administration also aims to improve the standard of living of beneficiaries families by enhancing access to natural resources leading to reduction in poverty.

Besides increasing plantation cover by utilizing revenue wasteland, the tasar sericulture will also rejuvenate the local natural environment in an integrated and comprehensive manner.

Through this tasar silk intervention, the district administration aims to build and strengthen local institutions which would enable the communities to be partners in programme execution and bringing improvement in their social and economic status.

Mamata Naik (36), a landless woman in Dhaladihi village in Phuljhar GP of Banspal block, says, “I have been doing tasar silk worm rearing since long by collecting cocoons from forest area. With the support from DMF, I got 2.5 acre land from Tahsildar for Arjun and Asan plantation. I have planted 1852 plants in the area in the year 2021. Since plantation, I have been engaged in pit digging, sapling plantation, hoeing, weeding etc in patch and got regular wage remuneration from MGNREGA. I have also done inter-crop in my plot with support from DMF and TDF.”
Tasar silk worm rearing has been immensely benefiting farmers like Mamata Naik in improving their financial condition.

In order to promote tasar sericulture, the district administration has undertaken several activities, such as raising Tasar host tree plantation in fallow revenue wastelands in forest fringe areas by raising block plantations , adopting in situ soil conservation measures to arrest soil degradation and development of land to make it suitable for Tasar host tree plantation , developing water resources, either individually or on a community basis to provide protective irrigation for the plantation.

Raising intercrops with improved cultivation practices by building capacity of farmers through training, exposure visits, introduction of new technologies etc, promoting and strengthening of community level institutions like Tasar Vikash Samiti (TVS) and TRCS and promotion of Mega Nursery and BSPU will strengthen and sustain Tasar pre-cocoon cycle in the locality are other major activities undertaken by the administration to promote tasar silk farming in the district.