BENGALURU: University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) vice-chancellor Dr SV Suresh said that the university will always remain as the backbone of farmers.
Speaking at a training programme and exhibition on sericulture, silk by-products and value addition, he said farmers can reduce their risk of losses during droughts by using other alternative methods of farming like sericulture.
“It is possible to accrue profits even in adverse conditions if by-products are properly value added and sold through companies built by farmers. At present, in districts like Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Rural, despite an acute scarcity of water, farmers are following the dry farming system because they have adopted the integrated farming system. They have sub-occupations through sericulture and dairy farming where they can generate high income for a long time,” he said.
Sericulture, in particular, is highly profitable, he said, because apart from worm farming, silk spinning and cloth weaving, there are other trades that opens up if sericulture is undertaken.
To exhibit this point, the university held an exhibition with several by-products of sericulture, including flower tea, mulberry jams and pickles, wines, mulberry leaf bhajis and pakodas, as well as decorative items and jewelry like silk loom vases, flower clusters, earring and garlands.