Silk Rearing Kits disbursed among farmers at Sericulture Departmental Center Chinnari, Jhelum valley district:
Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR (Parliament Times):Kashmir’s ancient traditional cottage Industry of Sericulture has emerged an attractive self-generated sources of income in the private sector in Azad Jammu Kashmir State.
This reality appeared in the current fast developing regime following a gigantic phased development plan launched by the Sericulture Department of Azad Jammu Kashmir government for the promotion of the Sericulture home Industry attracting the existing and intending private sector – Sericulture farmers to generate attractive volume of income on self help basis through enjoying free material and technical know-how services made available by the State Sericulture Department through their field offices across Azad Jammu Kashmir.
This was disclosed on the eve of Rearing Kits distribution ceremony hosted by the AJK Sericulture Department at the conclusion of 03-day capacity building training program participated by at lest 130 farmers at Sericulture Departmental Center Chinnari in Jhelum Valley district of Azad Jammu Kashmir on Sunday.
The kits distribution ceremony was attended among others by a large number of male and female farmers besides the seasoned experts – the senior officers of the State Sericulture Department including Fahad Keyani Assistant Director, Javed Hussain Shah Assistant Sericulture Development Officer District Jhelum Valley district, Maqbool Hussain Keyani Field Assistant of Sericulture Circle Chinnari and others.
Director AJK State Sericulture Department Syed Ali Asghar Shah gave away the Rearing Kits among the successful participants of the training program.
The three days training program was aimed at to impart special training for mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing at the second leg of the sericulture industry uplift plan with disbursement of the Rearing Kits among the trained farmers to facilitate them for successful silkworm rearing during upcoming season, the top boss of the AJK Sericulture Department Syed Ali Asghar Shah later told our Special AJK Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao in an interview late Sunday.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Silkworm rearing is only a 35 days economic activity.
The 03 days Training programs hosted at the Center in three separated phases for 130 Sericulture farmers including 73 ladies who enthusiastically successfully participated in the training program showing their keen interest in the self-income generating activity through joining the attractive silk rearing AJK wide phased program launched by the State Sericulture Department.
Elaborating the serious of the AJK-wide professional training program to attract maximum of existing and intending Sericulture farmers to boost their income through participating in seasonal silk rearing programs, Director Sericulture Syed Ali Asghar Shah told this news agency that Sericulture and silkworm rearing was a home based activity for economic uplift of poor and landless farmers especially women folk of remote areas of the state.
The State Sericulture Department Chief underlined that during last season of silkworm rearing at least Rs. One million income was earned only by the farmers of Chinnari Center in Jhelum Valley district of AJK by getting free of cost quality silk seed, equipment in form of rearing kits and other technical assistance from his department.
“During upcoming season of plantation and silkworm rearing the department was also going to devise a plan to distribute free of cost mulberry plants with urea fertilizer and silk seed packets amongst the trained farmers for their livelihood close to their doorstep, the Director Sericulture Department added.