DIMAPUR — Nagaland is engaged in sericulture on a total of 18,490 acres of land, of which 1,235 acres are used for mulberry cultivation, 14,874 acres are used for eri cultivation, 2,066 acres are used for muga cultivation, and 315 acres are used for oak tasar cultivation as of 2022-2023.
The potential for sericulture to generate employment in the state is enormous. To put it in perspective, an acre of sericulture, along with supporting activities (such as silkworm, silk spinning, silk weaving, and so on), can directly employ close to six people throughout the year. In the state, ericulture continues to be the most successful sericulture activity.
Mokokchung has the largest area for eri cultivation, with a total of 3,415 acres, followed closely by Dimapur with 3,150 acres and Wokha with 1,512 acres, per the Nagaland Economic Survey 2022–2023.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Peren has 1,430 acres dedicated to eri cultivation, while Kohima has 1,360 acres, Tuensang has 930 acres, Phek has 715 acres, Longleng has 692 acres, Kiphire has 655 acres, Mon has 600 acres, and Zunheboto has 415 acres.
According to the survey, only three districts were engaged in mulberry cultivation, including Dimapur with 600 acres, Peren with 315 acres, and Mokokchung with 320 acres, while Kohima, Phek, and Kiphire were engaged in oak tasar cultivation on 80 acres, 95 acres, and 140 acres, respectively.
The production of cocoons from Eri and Muga increased in the fiscal year 2022–23 compared to the previous year, 2021–22, while cocoon production from mulberry and oak tasar decreased.
In the year 2021–2022, cocoon production from mulberry totalled 144.39 metric tons, but in the following year, 2022–2023, this figure significantly decreased to 47.57 metric tons. Similarly, cocoon production from Oak Tasar decreased from 3.60 lakh cocoons to 1.71 lakh cocoons during the same period.
The production of eri culture has increased, rising from 316.05 metric tons in 2021–2022 to 341.75 metric tons in 2022–2023, and cocoon production from muga cultivation has also increased significantly, rising from 9.91 lakh cocoons to 18.49 lakh cocoons during the same period.
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