Climate Change affects Silk Production in Assam
Climate change is posing a threat to the silk industry in Assam, a state in India’s North East and this could have severe impact on the production, warns researchers.
Climate change is posing a threat to the silk industry in Assam, a state in India’s North East and this could have severe impact on the production, warns researchers. Climate Change is affecting the production of muga, the organic golden silk found in Assam, and this in turn is affecting the commercial production of the silk. The muga silk is produced from the cocoons of the moth of the Muga Silk worm, called 'Antheraea Assamensis' which is found only in Assam.
“Harsh climatic condition is affecting production of this silk, which is affecting its commercial production”, admits C K Dihingiya, a senior official of the Assam Sericulture department.
According to data from the Assam Sericulture department there has been a decline in Muga production over the years, and in the past few years the state has been far behind the expected target of 150 metric tons a year.
Researchers say the root cause behind the decline is climate change. “The silkworm is vulnerable to the impact of variation in the atmospheric temperature due to the outdoor rearing of the worms that produce the cocoons”, says Sabita Devi of the non profit, Centre for Environment, Social and Policy Research which is an organisation working on climate change based at Assam.
According to researchers another major impact has been due to rise in temperature.
“The ideal temperature for rearing silkworm ranges between 24 to 32 degree Celsius, with a humidity level ranging between 80 to 85 percent, but in the last few years there has been an increase in the temperature and this is affecting the production”, adds Devi.
.jpg)
The Golden ThreadThe process for obtaining the golden thread is long and strenuous, the people who rear this silkworm and are called the muga farmers. It has been going on since generations and many of these farmers have been doing this traditionally. Over 7140 hectars of land in Assam is under Muga cultivation.
The muga farmers lay out eggs of the Antheraea Assamensis Moth on the leaves of two particular trees called the Som (Machilus bombycina) and Soalu (Litsaea Polyantha) trees to hatch out into caterpillars about 2 mm long. The caterpillars eat voraciously and after about five weeks become about 30 mm long. During this period they change their skin four times. After the final skin change the farmers provide straw frames in which the silkworms make its cocoon, it takes another eight days to make the Cocoon.
At the cocoon stage the farmers obtain the silk, for this they boil the cocoon in water and then reel the silk in reeling machine.
Decline in Production
The decline in cocoon production is posing as a threat to the millions of people who are dependent on the Muga silk industry in the state. Farmers are not able to produce cocoons like they used to before.
“Earlier we were able to produce over thirty thousand cocoon a year, and this used to fetch us almost 4 kgs of silk”, says Krishna Pegu, a Muga farmer belonging to Dhupdhora village in Assam.
“Since the last two years, the production has declined and we have been able to produce less than eighteen thousand cocoons a years”, adds Pegu.
“Earlier we used to earn about Rs. 12000 a year and it used to be sufficient for a modest living but now we are able to earn less than Rs. 7000 a year”, adds Pegu.
According to the All Assam Handloom Cooperative Association, Assam has over 1.26 million handloom weavers engaged in over 93, 22,000 handlooms, and also has about 2.32 million people who are associated with the Muga trade in the form of Muga farmers, labours and sales persons.
“The jobs of these people are at risk due to the decline in the silk production”, says Dihingiya
Weavers under threat
The silk is processed and silk cloths are weaved in a small town called Sualkuchi which is famous for the silk industry. At Sualkuchi many families are becoming jobless as they are not getting the required amount of silk to weave silk cloths.
“We have been a weaver family since generations, but I and my brother had to give up weaving as the income and profits have declined manifold since the past few years”, says Bikiron Kalita, a resident of Sualkuchi town.
“Till 4 years back my earning in a month used to range between Eight to Ten thousand rupees, but since the last few years it has declined to less than Rupees Four to Five thousand a month. Since the past one year conditions have further worsened and I had to spend several months without work and without income”, adds Kalita.
Next Story
