ReturnBHUBANESWAR: The Central Silk Board, Bangalore, has asked the stake-holders of silk industry in Odisha to accredit their Vanya silk products as Eco Vanya Silk or Organic Vanya Silk. The accreditation would fetch the growers and fabric producers organic silk certification and greater remuneration.
With China ahead of India in sericulture sector, the Centre has been laying emphasis on growth of ‘Vanya’ or forest-grown silk that has made a mark in the global market.
As per the Central Silk Board, nodal agency for silk production in India, Odisha’s strength lies in its lustrous Vanya variety that can even give China a run for its money. Currently, Vanya silk’s share is around 30 per cent of total production in the country and Odisha is a major grower of the variety. While Vanya silk producers in other States have got organic certification for their products as Eco-Vanya silk, those in Odisha are yet to adopt the concept.
Joint Secretary of Central Silk Board, KK Setty, said while global competition exists for mulberry silk, there is no competition for forest-grown silk as it is unique to India. The country is home to all four varieties of commercially exploitable silk- mulberry, tussar, muga and eri. While mulberry is produced by big farmers on a large scale, tussar, eri and muga varieties are produced by smaller farmers, mainly tribals, in forest areas, Setty said. These three varieties are collectively called Vanya, from which the variety gets its name.
Sericulture in Odisha includes both mulberry and Vanya silk. Tussar and eri are produced under Vanya category here.
Setty has recently written to the Odisha Cooperative Tussar and Silk Federation Ltd (SERIFED), Bhubaneswar, to create awareness among farmers, NGOs and cooperative societies coming under SERIFED purview to accredit their products. While the Central Silk Board would help SERIFED in getting the accreditation, the former has approached OneCert Asia Agri Certification Pvt Ltd, an inspection and certification agency providing certification to organically grown products, for the purpose.
“As there is a huge demand for organically grown Vanya Silk, we are encouraging Odisha farmers and manufacturers to get organic certification for their products as this would fetch them profits, both nationally and internationally,” he said.
