China accelerates the comprehensive utilization of sericulture resources
Recently, the reporter learned from the national on-site meeting on comprehensive utilization of sericulture resources held by the Ministry of Agriculture in Yizhou, Guangxi, that in 2014, the output value of diversified utilization of sericulture resources in China reached nearly 15.5 billion yuan, an increase of 59% over the 5.7 billion yuan in 2010. This indicates that China's sericulture industry is accelerating its leap from the traditional single-industry development model of “one cocoon” and “one thread of silk” to the diversified development model of “one mulberry field” and “a series of resources.”
China has a history of more than 5,000 years of planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms, was historically the starting point of the “Silk Road,” and is still the world's largest sericulture producer and silk exporter. In 2014, more than 8 million households in more than 700 counties across the country planted mulberry trees and raised silkworms, and cocoon and silk production accounted for about 80% of the world's total output. Under the traditional industrial development model of “mulberry—silkworm—cocoon—silk—silk fabric—finished products,” planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms was all for “one cocoon,” while resources such as the roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits of mulberry trees, as well as silkworm pupae, silkworm moths and silkworm excrement, were often left idle, resulting in a utilization rate of sericulture resources of less than 3%. This not only restricted the improvement of the comparative benefits of planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms, but also confronted the development of the sericulture industry with severe challenges.
The so-called comprehensive utilization of sericulture resources means that, beyond the traditional industrial development model, sericulture production is expanded from planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms to production and business activities including three-dimensional planting and breeding in mulberry fields, cultural tourism, and the utilization of mulberry leaves, mulberry branches, mulberry fruits, silkworm excrement and silkworm rearing rooms. Its purpose is to comprehensively develop the material, biological and cultural resources in all links of the sericulture industry chain with modern science and technology and the concept of a circular low-carbon economy.
In terms of making full use of resources and increasing farmers' income, the comprehensive utilization of sericulture resources has great potential. Taking the planting and breeding model in Panzhihua, Sichuan, as an example, sericulturists normally earn 3,000 yuan per mu per year from raising silkworms, and by selling fresh mulberry fruits, processing mulberry leaf tea and mulberry leaf vegetables, etc. when not raising silkworms, they can increase their income by 5,100 yuan. With the industrialized development of resources such as mulberry juice, mulberry branch mushrooms, edible pupae and silkworm excrement fertilizer, China's comprehensive utilization rate of sericulture resources has now approached 20%.
In order to accelerate the comprehensive utilization of sericulture and promote the transformation and development of the industry, the meeting required sericulture management departments at all levels to formulate development plans for the comprehensive utilization of sericulture resources in light of local realities and guide various factors to further concentrate in advantageous production areas; intensify research and development of practical technologies, promptly extend scientific research results to production, strengthen technical guidance and strive to improve production levels; guide new agricultural business entities such as agricultural professional cooperatives, family farms and leading enterprises to participate in the development and utilization of sericulture resources, promote large-scale operation and standardized production, and drive farmers to become better off; while developing the comprehensive utilization of sericulture resources, strengthen the protection of silkworm variety resources, variety breeding, variety approval and fine variety propagation, standardize the order of silkworm egg production and operation, and promote the sustained and stable development of sericulture production nationwide.