A team from the Central Silk Board (CSB), a statutory body under the Union ministry of textiles, visited various pockets in mineral-rich Keonjhar district of Odisha recently and assured farmers of all help and insurance coverage to boost silk cultivation there.

The team assured the farmers of providing technical knowhow to increase yield of cocoons and yarns.

The team was accompanied by silk growers where they visited several plantation sites under Ghatagaon, Patana and Harichandanpur blocks.

The members met scores of farmers and leant the techniques the latter adopt to grow plants on which silkworms live on. They also inspected the methods used to extract thread from silk cocoons and spin yarns.

The team also analysed that silk farmers have to suffer losses when silkworms die of various diseases, leading to low production of cocoons.

Farmers hope that the Union government takes steps to ensure increase in silk production and prevention of loss in case of damages induced by cyclones and diseases to silkworms. Also, they are quite enthused after being assured by the team of insurance coverage.

The Central team comprised member secretary of CSB, H Nageswar Prabhu, deputy secretary (Bangalore) Ramesh Chandra Das, deputy secretary of the regional silk office Girish Chandra Ray, advisor to the ministry of textiles (New Delhi) Dhiren Kumar, coordinator of directorate of textiles and handloom Dr Rabi Siching along with deputy director of Keonjhar regional silk unit Lucia Lakra, assistant director Ramesh Chandra Mohapatra and secretary of Tarini and Patana cooperative society Dinabandhu Singhdeo.