Benguet bolsters silk production

KAPANGAN, Benguet: On top of a 300- hectare stand of mulberry trees, this municipality is preparing an additional 50 hectares for production of silk, according to Mayor Robert Canuto in an interview over the week.

We are now awaiting the fund release from the national government through the Department of Agriculture for the project, he said.

“There is money in silk production,” Canuto said, adding, “the silk industry in the Philippines is a very young industry and there is an unlimited market for silk.”

Formerly known for its marijuana plantations, the government is now funding the municipality’s mulberry plantations for sericulture.

“With the production of silk, we help the environment get greener, through the planting of mulberry trees within the municipality. The silkworm larva or caterpillar of Bombyx mori (Latin: “silkworm of the mulberry tree”), feeds on mulberry leaves,” he said.

“Silk production not only is income generating but bonds the family as well,” Canuto said, adding, “the production of silk becomes a family affair where each and every member of the family has a task and helps in the different stages of silk production.”

According to him, they are now adding more area dedicated to sericulture as the demand for silk is high and the municipality needs more area to meet its growing market.

In 2005, the Fiber Industry Development Authority ( FIDA) through the help of other agencies founded the Kapangan Environmental Livelihood Multi- purpose Cooperative. LARRY MADARANG