Expansion of Sericulture in India Using Geospatial Tools and Web Technology

Potential areas for expansion of sericulture in 108 selected districts covering 24 states in the country were mapped using remote sensing, GIS and GPS tools. Special emphasis was given to northeastern (NE) region, where 41 districts out of a total of 108 districts were selected. Potential area identification for sericulture development was based on land evaluation, water resources and climatic requirements for growing silkworm food plants as well as rearing silkworms. Among NE states, Mizoram has maximum highly suitable area (4.7% of total geographical area) followed by Meghalaya (2.8%), that can be brought under mulberry sericulture. Among non-traditional sericulture states, Himachal Pradesh has the highest suitable area (0.9% highly suitable and 6.2% moderately suitable areas) in the selected districts. Among the five traditional sericulture states, Tamil Nadu has the highest area under highly suitable category, which is about 4% of the total geographical area in the selected districts. To provide information on sericulture and spatial information on potential areas for the selected 108 districts, a geoportal titled 'Sericulture Information Linkages and Knowledge System' (SILKS) was conceptualized and developed using open source GIS, and put in the public domain (http://silks.csb.gov.in). Within three years, the portal could make a significant impact in the country particularly in NE states and a number of sericulture expansion activities have been taken up based on the study.