Silk output declines in Karnataka as pests force farmers to switch crops: Report
Bengaluru: Karnataka, India’s leading producer of silk, is witnessing a sharp decline in raw silk output this year, as pest outbreaks and rising input costs drive sericulture farmers to shift away from the crop in favour of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Central Silk Board (CSB) has projected India’s total raw silk production at 30,614 tonnes for the 2024-25 marketing year (April-December) — a significant drop from last year’s 38,913 tonnes, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
“The data is provisional and does not include estimates of raw silk produced between January and April, production may cross 38,000 to 40,000 MT,” DH quoted Kumaresan Periasamy, scientist, Central Silk Board, as saying.
Despite optimism shown by the official, ground reports from key sericulture hubs such as Sidlaghatta and Ramanagara — popular for cocoon markets and silk reeling — paint a grim picture.
“There have been many diseases that have affected the mulberry crop in the past five years. As a result, many have shifted out of the profession,” DH quoted a farmer from Sidlaghatta as saying. He noted that over the years, labour shortages, escalating costs, and recurring pest and disease outbreaks have severely impacted the viability of sericulture.
While a kilogram of the crossbreed variety of silkworm cocoons can fetch up to Rs 650, input costs have risen to Rs 500 per kg, the report added.
Many farmers who have quit sericulture have reportedly moved on to growing fruits, flowers, and vegetables.
Karnataka, which contributes around 40 percent of the nation’s silk, produced nearly 29,000 tonnes of mulberry silk alone in 2023–24. However, the state’s dominance is being challenged by a combination of factors, including stagnant cocoon prices, stiff competition from Chinese silk imports, and spiralling production costs.
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'Wrong format': Speaker UT Khader rejects APMC Minister Shivanand Patil's resignation
Bengaluru: Minister for Textiles and APMC Shivanand S Patil resigned as MLA on Friday, stating that he was accepting a challenge from expelled BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal to contest a by-election against him, but Karnataka Assembly Speaker UT Khader rejected the letter on grounds that Patil's resignation was not in the right format.
The minister, who is the MLA from Basavana Bagevadi, had requested the Speaker in his letter to accept his letter only if Yatnal too resigned as legislator of Vijayapura to contest against him.
Yatnal too, however, has rejected Patil's challenge, calling it only a drama. Stating that a conditional resignation was not acceptable, Yatnal added that he would not resign unless the minister's resignation letter was accepted.
Yatnal had recently criticized Patil and Congress MLA from Hungund Vijayanand Kashappanavar for protesting against him in Vijayapura city for his allegedly defamatory comments on Muslims. Yatnal had also challenged both Congress leaders to face him in by-elections from their respective constituencies.
On Friday, Patil submitted his resignation, saying he was accepting Yatnal's challenge and would take on the MLA in a by-election from Basavana Bagevadi.
