SERICULTURE IN EAST AFRICA

JAICAF
Japan Association forInternational Collaboration ofAgriculture and Forestry

March 2007

Foreword
In accordance with the “Development Initiative” announced by the Japanese
Government at the December 2005 WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, theMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan has created the“Development Initiative by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.” Thisinitiative is to provide assistance to developing countries not only by production
promotion, but also in the fields of processing, distribution and sales, and thetraining of human resources by south-south cooperation, and focuses on the creationof salable agricultural products. In order to contribute to the promotion of thisdevelopment initiative, JAICAF, Japan Association for International Collaborationof Agriculture and Forestry has conducted a research and study project to collect,analyze and provide related information to Least Developed Countries (LDC). In
2006 Fiscal Year, sericulture in East Africa was raised as part of it.
This report summarizes current conditions of sericulture in East Africa, with theaim of providing basic data to be considered in the African development cooperation.
We hope this information proves to be helpful to those concerned.
We wish to express our gratitude to Editor in chief of the report, Dr. Kiyoshi
Kawakami, former team leader of The Project for Promotion of Popularizing
Practical Bivoltine Sericulture Technology (1997-2002) of JICA, and authors, Mr.
Akio Yamaguchi, former JICA long term expert of The Project for Strengthening
Extension System for Bivoltine Sericulture in India (2002-2005), Dr. Kunikatsu
Hamano, Professor, International Environmental and Agricultural Sciences,
Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology,
with a doctorate in International Environment Agricultural Science, Dr. Kazuo
Hanzawa, Professor, Department of International Development Studies, College of
Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, and Mr. Hiroshi Takasawa, Expert, Japan
Association for International Collaboration of Agriculture and Forestry, for writing
this report at our request. We also greatly appreciate the cooperation of all
persons concerned the Embassy of Japan in Uganda, JICA (headquarters, Kenya
Office and Uganda Office), JICA experts and Uganda Governments, and ICIPE
related personnel during the on-site survey.
The view expressed in the report are those of the JAICAF and do not necessarilyreflect those by the Japanese Government.
March 2007
Japan Association for International Collaboration of Agriculture and Forestry
Hidero Maki, President

･Table of Contents
1. Agriculture in East Africa ········································································ 1
2. What is sericulture industry? ·································································· 1
3. Current conditions of the sericulture industry in East Africa ························ 2
4. Summary of the on-site survey of sericulture and raw silk production ············ 21) Silkworm egg production································································ 32) Mulberry cultivation······································································ 43) Rearing equipment, devices and sterilization ···································· 44) Silkworm eggs
(incubation, first feeding of newly hatched silkworm larvae) ·············· 55) Rearing ······················································································· 56) Silkworm diseases········································································· 77) Cocoon harvesting from mountages ················································· 88) Grading cocoons (cocoon transaction) ·············································· 89) Cocoon drying··············································································· 910) Silk reeling ·················································································· 911) Fabric ······················································································· 1012) Domestic and international market and distribution························ 10
5. Challenges in the promotion of sericulture in East Africa ···························· 111) The role of ICIPE ········································································ 122) Recognition of the sericulture industry and the international statusof sericulture·············································································· 133) Human resources development such as specialists and advanced
technical experts ········································································ 144) Demand pioneering for the domestic and international market·········· 145) Long-term promotion project and framework of responsibility under thestrong leadership of the central government ··································· 156) Maintenance of the basic infrastructure ········································· 167) Interaction with sericulture developed countries and introduction offoreign technology······································································· 16

1.

Agriculture in East Africa

East Africa faces the Indian Ocean and is mostly comprised of wet savanna. The
cultivated area in East Africa is approximately 19% of all of the Sub-Sahara, which
is approximately 0.4ha arable acreage per person. However, the average in East
Africa is said to be much lower than the average in all Sub-Sahara. In recent years,
Africa as a whole has been experiencing increased land pressure due to population
growth, and unlike global trends, grain production per person has decreased. Also,
human population pressure has led to agricultural land expansion throughdeforestation, hastening global warming.
Although cotton, coffee, and tea have been exported traditionally, agriculture in
the countries of East Africa mainly consists of subsistence farming. However
horticulture products, such as flowers and ornamental plants, and vegetables, have
rapidly increased in recent years as non-traditional export products. Expectations
are also high for sericulture as a new non-traditional export product which cancontribute to the improvement in the income of farmers, including small-scale
farmers and farmers in frontier areas.

2.

What is sericulture industry?

The sericulture industry entails everything from cocoon and raw silk production
and business transactions by various processes, such as breeding and maintenanceof silkworm races, mulberry breeding and cultivation, silkworm egg production,silkworm rearing and mounting, cocoon drying, silk reeling, raw silk testing, to the
production of silk products by manufacturing and weaving, as well as the silkthread and silk industry. The sericulture industry requires much technology and acertain level of investment, and the linkages of a large variety of related businesses.
As such, in order to work a sericulture production, organizations and traders
who will purchase cocoons produced by sericulture farmers are needed. In otherwords, before silkworm rearing at sericulture farms can be established, silk reelingcompanies and brokers to purchase the cocoons are prerequisites. Silk reelingcompanies must manufacture raw silk of the quality and the price demanded byprocess manufacturers of the textile industry that use raw silk. In turn, in order tobuild a silk reeling business, these process manufacturers who will purchase theraw silk and produce silk products for domestic and international demands areneeded.
A well-established relationship of supply and demand from downstream to
upstream, from processed products and sales to sericulture farmers, based on both
domestic and international consumption needs, and that can cooperate towards
1

operations growth, is major premise for the establishment of sericulture and silkreeling industry. Domestic demand is especially needed. Since cocoons and raw silkmust face competition in the international free market, domestic demand is initially
important in order to endure the competition. In particular, a unique domestic
demand with historical and ethnic characteristics is an important factor for the
sericulture industry and its development.

3.

Current conditions of the sericulture industry in East Africa

As defined by the African Development Bank, 11 countries constitute East AfricaComoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of
Kenya, Republic of Madagascar, Mauritius, Republic of Seychelles, Somalia
Democratic Republic, United Republic of Tanzania, and Republic of Uganda.
Among these countries, production of cocoons and silk thread from silkworms
occurs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, and Uganda, and production of cocoons andsilk using wild silk insects (wild silkworms) is also performed. However, theiroperations are in the extremely immature phase and cocoons and silk as materials for
traditional handcrafts are poorly supplied to the local market. Although a small
amount of wild cocoons or silk thread was exported from Uganda to India and Japanin the past, exports to the overseas market have ceased. Sericulture in East Africa has
a history of more than 30 years, but actual conditions in each country have not beensuccessful because sericulture and silk reeling technologies are immature and themarket cannot be secured.
Wild silkworms have been traditionally used for many years. However,productivity and product quality is low and the market is limited, so such production
has not grown even as local industry. Ethiopia is the only country to export wild silk
products to the overseas market.
Currently, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE,
Nairobi, Kenya) is playing a central role in sericulture development in Africa.
ICIPE is conducting research and introduction of technologies to farmers in Africa
and training for representatives of each government and farmers. ICIPE also havebeen provided technical support to farmers’ groups in each country to reachsustainable sericulture development

4.

Summary of the on-site survey of sericulture and raw silk production

Results of the survey carried out in August 2006 in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia
are described here.
2

If the goal of sericulture is to eradicate poverty, low-cost sericulture by rearing
methods adjusted to the economical and technical conditions of local farmers isdesired, even though the quality of cocoon may be lower. However, if the goal is
production (cocoon, raw silk) for export, quality at the international level and a
volume of trade are required, so technologies and equipments close to the level ofbivoltine sericulture of sericulture developed countries such as Japan and China are
required. Also, the bivoltine silkworm race has been bred to achieve high quality
and high-yield, and needs a large amount of high quality of mulberry leaves, and isprone to disease in comparison with other silkworm races such as the tropicalsilkworm (multivoltine). As such, high quality mulberry leaves produced from amulberry field with good fertility management and a clean rearing environment isneeded to rear bivoltine silkworms. Hence, a higher level of mulberry cultivationand silkworm rearing technologies are required than multivoltine sericulture, as
well as a higher cost for mulberry field management, rearing equipment, andsterilization.
1)

Silkworm egg production

For egg production of the bivoltine silkworm, a hybrid of the Japanese silkworm
race and Chinese silkworm race is essential. Furthermore, not only the productionof silkworm eggs, but since silkworms hatch only once or twice in a year, silkworm
eggs with a good hatching rate (more than 95%) must be supplied year-roundaccording to the start date of the silkworm rearing by farmers. To produce anddistribute a large quantity of high quality silkworm eggs, advanced technology anda lengthy experience are especially required, as well as various equipment for cold
storage of silkworm eggs (2.5°C，5°C，15°C, etc) according to distribution volume,and processing and preservation, such as acid-treatment and incubation (keeping
silkworm eggs in a controlled environment adjusting temperature, humidity, andlight ray, etc. to ensure uniform hatching).
In Uganda, hibernating egg production is carried out in the Bushenyi District
and at the National Sericulture Center in Kampala, and while acid-treatment has
been attempted a few times at the National Sericulture Center, silkworm eggs did
not turn out as planned. The silkworm races mainly used were hybrids introduced
from Japan and have been raised by the farmers. A portion of the produced cocoons
are kept for propagation and are simply crossbred, so the quality of the silkworm
eggs dropped due to repeated simple crossbreeding over the years.
Also, electricity is supplied every other day. Due to the poor electricity supply
conditions, cold storage of the silkworm eggs and incubation equipment cannot beproperly carried out, so appropriate hibernation storage and incubation of thesilkworm eggs cannot be achieved, making planed distribution of silkworm eggs
3

difficult and negatively affecting silkworm egg hatching.
2)

Mulberry cultivation

Since the quality of the mulberry fed to the silkworm greatly influences therearing achievement of the silkworm (especially bivoltine), cultivating good quality
mulberry is important. To do so, development of a mulberry field in a breezy andsunny location, and the use of high quality mulberry varieties which are adapted to
the local weather, mulberry cordon and fertility management adjusted to theharvest are required.
Since most farmers in Uganda and Ethiopia do not apply fertilizers tomulberry fields, the nutritional quality and yield of the mulberry leaves is notsuitable for bivoltine silkworm rearing. Due to the lack of appropriate guidance inmulberry cultivation technology and the fact that most farmers are poor, it isdifficult to achieving favorable fertility management.
In the future, the selection and introduction of mulberry varieties andtechnical guidance of mulberry cultivation are needed for the thorough fertility
management of a mulberry fields.
3)

Rearing equipment, devices, and sterilization

The goal of bivoltine sericulture is the production of high quality cocoons byrearing silkworm breeds with high cocoon thread production potential. However,characteristics of the bivoltine silkworm include susceptibility to high-temperatures,
humidity condition, and disease. As such, cleaning and sterilization of rearing
equipment and devices are needed to maintain the appropriate rearing environment,
and sanitary (not contaminated by disease-causing bacteria) condition. For example,
the rearing room for young silkworm larvae, rearing room for grown silkworm
larvae, room for mounting of silkworm larvae, and tools for silkworm rearing(papers for the rearing bed for silkworms, sheets for the shelves for silkworm
rearing, cocooning frame, etc) must be sanitized and cleaned before, during andafter rearing, hands must be washed and shoes changed when entering the rearing
room to prevent the introduction of disease-causing bacteria. It also important tomaintain a sanitized environment in the rearing room surroundings and thesilkworm larvae and rearing beds must be disinfected to prevent an outbreak of
diseases at the first feeding of newly hatched silkworm larvae, and at the initialmulberry feeding at each instars.
However, disinfection by farmers is merely spraying a bleach solution a few
times, and no proper or sufficient disinfection is carried out. Disinfection on therearing bed during rearing, washing hands before beginning rearing work or4changing shoes when entering the rearing room are not carried out.
The rearing room surroundings cannot be said to be a sanitary, and rearing
rooms that have a dirt floor, clay walls, and a wooden cocooning frame are difficult
to disinfect. Furthermore, the rearing bed in direct contact with the silkworms iscovered with a plastic sheet, which is used repeatedly, and is such that disinfection
and cleaning cannot be completely carried out. Thus, once there is an outbreak of
disease, there is a higher possibility of the source of the disease becoming
established, and there is the risk that subsequent outbreaks will lead to a constantdecrease in income.
4)

Silkworm eggs (incubation, first feeding of newly hatched silkworm larvae)

Newly hatched silkworm larvae (unit- 20,000 per box) are prepared by asilkworm egg producer according to the request of the farmers, and the newly
hatched larvae are distributed to a joint rearing house for young silkworm larvae orto the farmer. Then, rearing of silkworms starts with the first feeding of newly
hatched silkworm larvae. For incubation, the silkworm eggs must be kept for about
10 days at 25°C, 75% humidity, and specific lighting (16 hours light: 8 hours dark).
Then 2-3 days before hatching, they must be kept in complete darkness to ensure
uniform hatching. Uniform hatching of the silkworm eggs leads to uniform growthof the silkworms, which is extremely important for high quality cocoon production.
However at present in Uganda, the scale of the National Sericulture Center
where the silkworm egg production is conducted at is small and the equipment andtechnology is insufficient. Thus, silkworm egg distribution cannot meet the requests
from sericultural farmers. In particular, due to poor electric power conditions andconstant electrical outage, silkworm egg preservation and incubation cannot be
carried out stably, and in turn defective hatching of the silkworm eggs andinterruption of silkworm egg production occurs. Improvements in silkworm egg
production to meet the demands in volume, in silkworm egg preservation andhandling, in incubation equipment and in the technical level are necessary for the
stable supply of silkworm eggs.
5)

Rearing

The larvae period for silkworms can largely be classified into three periods- theyoung silkworm period, from the first feeding of newly hatched silkworms to the 3rd
instar after the second molting; the grown silkworm period from the 4th instar to the
5th instar, and the mounting period when cocoons are formed at the end of the 5th
instar. It is desirable to carry out the rearing each period of young silkworms, grownsilkworms, and mounting silkworms at different facilities, in order to prevent
5disease outbreak and provide optimum conditions for rearing.
(1) Rearing of young silkworm larvae
Rearing of young silkworm larvae starts immediately after hatching until
the 3rd instar. The rearing environment, quality of mulberry leaves and rearing
technology greatly influence the growth of the silkworms, thus rearing in thisperiod is very important for the production of high quality cocoons. This periodrequires a high level of skill and a good rearing environment (1st and 2nd instar:
rearing temperature 28 ℃ , rearing humidity 75-80%, 3rd instar: rearing
temperature 26-27℃, rearing humidity 75%, clean condition: disinfection in therearing room, washing hands and changing shoes, cleaning around the rearing
room, etc). This can be done by establishing a joint rearing house for young
silkworm larvae, rearing the newly hatched silkworm larvae of the first feeding
until the 2nd instar on a conjoint basis and distributing them to farmers.
However at present, proper silkworm egg incubation is not carried out andhatching occurs at different times. The rearing house for young silkworm larvae
cannot be maintained in the appropriate temperature and humidity and rearing
skills are inadequate, as a result, simultaneously hatching can not be carriedout. Such irregularities in the silkworm rearing process cause disparity of morethan 1 day by the time of distribution to farmers.
Rearing during the 3rd instar, after distribution from a rearing house foryoung silkworm larvae to farmers, is still under the young silkworm period. The
farmers must keep the rearing rooms under the clean condition and theappropriate temperature and humidity. However, the rearing of 3rd instar
silkworms are currently carried out in the same rearing rooms as grownsilkworms, and it is difficult to maintain the appropriate rearing environment.
(2) Rearing of grown silkworm larvae
During the rearing of grown silkworm larvae, the rearing temperature canbe lowered and rearing is easier than the young silkworm period, but mulberry
harvesting and feeding work intensifies as the volume of mulberry eaten
increases. And, since the quality and feeding volume of mulberry leaves largely
influence the growth of the silkworm larvae during this period, providing goodquality mulberry in the appropriate rearing environment (4th instar: rearing
temperature 26°C, rearing humidity 75%, 5th instar: rearing temperature 25°C,
rearing humidity 70%, clean condition: disinfect the rearing room, wash hands
and change shoes when entering the room, clean around the rearing room) is
important to ensure good silkworm growth and development.
In the district we visited, though the temperature at night dropped below
20°C, even maintaining the appropriate temperature by simple heating such as6

by charcoal fire was not carried out. Mulberry feeding was poorly timed and thesleeping period was poorly handled, leading to a disparity of 2-3 days insilkworm rearing. The volume of cocoon harvesting from mountages per single
box of silkworm eggs was small and cocoon quality was even worse.
Furthermore, as far as could be observed during the survey, the stored cocoonsat the site were either smaller in size, and the volume of mulberry fed during thegrown silkworm period was insufficient. Production of cocoons with the quality
to compete in the international market is very difficult with current equipment,materials, and technology.
(3) Mounting
Since mounting largely influences to cocoon quality (reelability percentage of
cocoon, contamination, etc), to maintain the appropriate temperature andhumidity condition (temperature: 25°C, humidity: 65%, air circulation andventilation: good), to gather silkworm larvae that have matured properly(silkworms at the most appropriate time to form cocoons), and to mount inmounting-specific facility using a mounting container to prevent deformity andcontamination of the cocoons are important. Matured silkworms discharge alarge quantity of urine before they start to form cocoons. So, if the growth of thesilkworms is not uniform, earlier formed cocoons may be contaminated by theurine of slower growing silkworms, and an increase in room temperature maylead to a reduction of the reelability percentage of the cocoons. Hence, air
circulation and ventilation in the room for mounting silkworm larvae must be
fully carried out. Also, thorough cleaning and disinfection of the mounting
container are important to prevent transmission of disease.
However, mounting is currently done over 1-2 days even if the silkworms
have a growth disparity of 3-4 days, and the appropriate temperature control
and air circulation and ventilation have not been carried out. Also, the size ofrack in the mounting container is slightly too large, and cannot be rotated or
maintain the appropriate distance, so there is bad air circulation and higher
humidity, leading to reduced reelability percentage of the cocoons and increased
number of contaminated cocoons. It is difficult to produce cocoons with uniform
size and shapes under these conditions.
It is needed to achieve the uniform growth of the silkworm, and then to
improve in the preservation methods and preservation location of the wooden
cocooning frames.
6)

Silkworm diseases
Silkworm diseases include viral disease, fungus disease, pebrine, and bacterial
7disease, etc. Among these, pebrine is ovarially transmitted, and greatly affects thesericulture industry, and can even occur in a disinfected and clean room, with clean
containers and eggs. For these reasons, elimination of pebrine by mother moth
inspection during the silkworm egg production phase is essential. In other words,
eggs produced by a mother moth in which microsporidia has been detected should
be disposed of and not used.
At the silkworm room of the farm we visited, traces of possible nuclear
polyhedrosis of a silkworm was observed, and it could be deduced that damage fromthe dangerous disease had already occurred. Also, there is the threat that pebrine
may spread since mother moth inspection is almost never carried out. Furthermore,clean rearing environment is not maintained, such as disinfection of silkworm roomand tools, so there is fear of reduced cocoon yield, and sometimes nothing isharvested due to silkworm disease contagions.
7)

Cocoon harvesting from mountage and shipping to the buyer

Cocoon harvesting from the mountage is important work where the quality of
cocoons is affected by the period and method. Harvesting when young silkworms in
the cocoon have fully pupated is important, and if cocoons are harvested withincomplete pupation, the soft pupa may be damaged by impact during harvesting,floss removing from cocoon, or transportation. This contaminates the inside of thecocoon, resulting in reduction of quality. Cocoon sorting to remove defective cocoons
during harvest is also important to produce high quality raw thread.
In the surveyed district, harvesting appears to be done 6-8 days after mounting,but all the cocoons are harvested on almost the same day, even though the disparity
in the rearing process by the time of mounting is about 3 days, and temperature
control during mounting is not appropriately carried out. This means thatharvesting is carried out when some cocoons are not completely pupated. Cocoons
which are not completely pupated are highly likely to cause inner contamination of
the cocoon by damage to the soft pupa during harvesting, subsequenttransportation and floss removal (the floss of the cocoon is the thread that silkworm
first expels when making the cocoon, and is the cotton-like cocoon filament covering
outside the cocoon), leading to a reduction in cocoon quality.
Cocoon sorting at the farm is just the removal of noticeably thin shell cocoons,and even at silk reeling process, only double cocoons, thin shell cocoons, pierced
cocoons, and unshaped cocoons are removed. Thus, there is a problem with cocoon
sorting as silk reeling material in order to meet international standards.
8)

Grading cocoons (cocoon transactions)8In cocoon transactions, grading cocoons is very important for both the farmerside (seller) and the silk reeling side (buyer) and must be handled fairly andaccurately. For the farmer, high quality cocoon production leads to higher income,and the right cocoon quality evaluation facilitates improvement in the quality of thecocoons produced by the farmers. Also for the silk reeling side, cocoon quality
directly influences reeling efficiency and the quality of the raw silk, so it is also
important from the view of securing profit.
However current evaluations in the surveyed area cannot be said to beappropriate because there are only a few items that are checked and also few
samples are taken, and the grading range is narrow.
9)

Cocoon drying

The purpose of cocoon drying is, first, to kill the pupa inside the cocoon to avoid
piercing the cocoons by emergence of the adult moth and then to reduce thehumidity the pupa and cocoon for long term storage to avoid damage by mold anddiscoloration, and most importantly, to equalize the loosening and tension of thethread from the cocoon when silk reeling, bringing out the characteristics of thebivoltine cocoon. To do so, the drying temperature, drying time, and degree of dryingof the cocoon are important elements for raw silk production.
Since the drying condition of cocoon greatly influences reeling efficiency and thequality of the raw silk, the proper drying is required. Settings for drying conditiondiffer slightly according to the drying cocoons, but by increasing the temperature to
110°C within about 30 minutes, then maintaining the temperature at 110°C forabout 2-2 1/2 hours, and then subsequently decreasing the temperature to 60°C forabout 3-3 1/2 hours, drying can be completed and weight of the cocoon can be
reduced to about 45% of its original weight within 5-6 hours.
In reality in the surveyed area, however, it is structurally difficult for the drying
cocoon equipment to increasing the room temperature to a high degree (110°C), andsometimes drying takes longer than one day, and confirmation of drying of thecocoon is done by touch of the hand only, and thus cannot be considered proper
drying. Also, the current equipment cannot dry on schedule since drying requires alonger time. The structure of the drying facilities to be difficult to insert and remove
the cocoons and height of the external chimney are also problems.
The current lengthy drying time and inadequate drying results in discolorationand mold on the cocoons, and deteriorates quality of raw silk. Long-term storage isalso difficult.
10)

Silk reeling9Silk reeling is to produce raw silk from cocoons by a manual, semi-automatic, or
automatic reeling machine, and the method of reeling largely influences the qualityof raw silk produced, so a high level of technology corresponding to the cocoon
material is needed for all the process of reeling. Using a size detector for reeling to
produce raw silk with a smaller size deviation is also needed in order to produce
high quality raw silk. Raw silk is very delicate, so if it is exposed to strong string
tension and then dried, it becomes extremely week in a short period of time andloses its commercial value.
However, in one of the silk reeling factories which we visited, raw silk reeled
three months ago was not removed from the reeling machine, had discolored toyellow, and had no commercial value. Also essential conditions such as the supply ofelectricity and water for silk reeling were not considered.
Furthermore, because reeling technology was poor, it was difficult to ensurehigh quality cocoon material that meets the production capacity of the equipment,
and the quality of produced raw silk was low. And storage conditions for the raw silk
were bad, further lowering the quality of the raw silk.
11)

FabricTo sell fabric as commercial product, weaving based on the product plan to suitthe needs of the customer is needed. Also, the fabric can have a different textureand quality depending on the thickness of the thread used (size), quality of thethread and method of weaving, so planning from cocoon material and reeling phaseis required.
In Uganda, trial products were weaved, dyed, and made into finished products,
but production of the products did not consider the needs of customer, and their
qualities were insufficient. Although the production of finished products is alsoneeded in consideration of the destination of the cocoons produced by the farmers,
production of high quality cocoons and raw silk should be focused on first.
12)

Domestic and international market and distribution

There are few consumers for cocoons, raw silk, or silk products in Uganda. This
also means that the domestic market does not exist. Also, at present, the export ofcocoons and raw silk has almost ceased. For Uganda, measures in either thedomestic or international market are a major issue in proposals of plans forsericulture promotion and development.

10

5.

Challenges in the promotion of sericulture in East Africa

Japan began its sericulture industry around 1900, and promoted and developed
advanced sericulture technology and reeling technology for 50 years, surpassing
Italy and France with its cocoon and raw silk production and established herself as
world leader. There were many reasons for this. One was that sericulture required
high level of agricultural technologies including the cultivation of mulberry andsilkworm rearing and it was very labor-intensive. Because of these, hard working
farmers with a high level of education and advanced knowledge were needed in thesericulture farming. Furthermore, factors that led to the development of sericulture
include the facts that raw silk was an international product and must have beenable to respond to the competition with foreign countries, silk needed to competewith the artificial fiber rayon invented at the end of 19th century, and to do so,
research on sericulture was intensified and the government focused on
dissemination of technology. Also sericulture farmers were eager to learn newtechniques in sericulture as a cash crop over subsistence crops.
Here is an example of how the Japan Government policy encouraged thepromotion of the sericulture industry. In particular, as an initial response for the
production of high quality cocoons, free distribution of silkworm eggs to farmers
throughout Japan was carried out from 1914 to disseminate the bivoltine hybrid.
Furthermore, unlike today, there were about 11,000 villages in Japan at the time,and 11,000 sericulture extension workers were trained in the 1920’s and weredispatched to each village to provide guidance to farmers for high quality cocoon
production. Of course the sericulture extension workers were trained for 1 year at
the government’s expense. Also, it was necessary for training center for sericulturalextension worker to be established in each prefecture. As this case shows, theJapanese Government historically promoted sericulture through institutional,
financial, and technical measures.
In this report, challenges to sericulture development and promotion in East
Africa are summarized in light of those experiences.
It became clear through the on-site survey in 3 countries, Kenya, Uganda, andEthiopia, the sericulture industry is now completely inactive in East Africa. In otherwords, regarding the laboratory scale silkworm eggs production, the small-scale
silkworm rearing at sericulture farms, low quality cocoons produced by sericulture
farmers and the raw silk reeling from those cocoons as well as the various fabrics
attempted to be produced with that raw silk, no clear goals in quality, price, volume,
taste and design have been set. This is thought to be the result of the lack of
domestic demand in any country in East Africa, and the lack of knowledge andinformation regarding the current sericulture industry. In other words, the current
situation is just the dream of acquiring foreign currency and cash earnings through11the export to foreign countries, without any clear thought of consumption needs ortarget consumers, and without considering the quality, price and design of thecocoons, raw silk and fabric that should be produced.
In East Africa, the sericulture industry is in the infant phase, and preparation
to start a new industry that has clear and practical goals in mind, such as whatkind of demand, what kind of quality and price, and what volume of cocoons andraw silk are currently needed, requires strong national leadership throughadministrative, financial, and technical support. To do so, expert consideration of
the kind of methods needed, long-term promotion planning, and the will to achievethese goals is required.
Another important factor for the establishment and promotion of a newsericulture industry is the consideration of conditions such as electricity, service
water, management capital, and the sales market because the silk reeling industry
which reels raw silk from cocoons is one of manufacturing industries. Added tothese conditions, since cocoon production is an agricultural product, it is naturally
affected by weather conditions, service water, and the eagerness of the farmers as
well. The current conditions in East Africa are considered to be severed
disadvantageous in view of each of these conditions. For example, we often heardthat the weather in one area was suitable for sericulture, and even saw it in print.
However, except for the reference on annual temperature and rainfall by Makerere
University, in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and that was displayed at the
research center, there was nothing to show the temperature and rainfall in thesericulture area, even in the laboratory. Furthermore, no one locally knew thecorrect and appropriate rearing temperature for silkworms, or the temperature
difference between morning and night in the district or the place which was said tobe suitable for silkworm rearing, and even a thermometer, common to any farmer inJapan, could not be observed.
When considering sericulture industry in East Africa, issues arising from thelack of domestic demand must be understood, and a future response that reflectsthat understanding is required. To consider only the technical issues for the
improvement of cocoon and raw silk production, without solving issues such as
understanding the status of sericulture and silk on the international market,
training of sericulture specialists, and consideration of an independent social,financial, and technical environment, further complicate the situation and increases
our worries.
1)

The role of ICIPE

When considering the development and promotion of sericulture in East Africa,
the activity and role of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
12

(ICIPE) in Kenya should be considered at first.
From our visit to Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, and our meeting and talking
with persons involved in sericulture in these countries, we could see that ICIPE isvery influential and has strong leadership at the technical aspect consistently
through its activity up to sericulture, reeling, and silk fabric. In other words,
ICIPE’s role is recognized as the stronghold of sericulture in East Africa. This
recognition is considered to have been earned through its research and extension
activities up to now.
ICIPE conducts research placing major emphasis on the combination
environment conservation and sericulture, and the viewpoint of promoting theindustry and earning foreign currency seem to be lacking.
One issue is the revision of ICIPE. In other words, ICIPE needs to realize its
current leadership by strengthening sericulture research and training activities,
and by establishing a system that can carry out a political and distributional study
from the standpoint of management and marketing to build the sericultureindustry.
2) Recognition of the sericulture industry and the international status ofsericulture
Through this survey, it was evident that the viewpoint of East Africa regarding
the meaning of promoting sericulture industry was not clear. For example, it was
unclear who wanted to promote sericulture, who has responsibility for marketing,
and who was in charge of supporting and teaching farmers, and there were no clear
objectives in these countries.
Part of the reason is the lack of understanding of what the sericulture industry
is and what the condition of competition in the international sericulture industry is.
Looking at world raw silk production volume statistics, the situation is that Chinais the almost only country currently supplying raw silk. East Africa thinks that they
have chance and potential to produce and export cocoons and raw silk. Of course,such there is potential. However, in order to withstand and succeed in international
market competition, adequate consideration, strategy, and preparation for therequirements and how to respond to them are needed.
First, the status of international sericulture must be observed. Then, as anindustry, renewed recognition of technical development, extension of technology,
market-related measures, demand pioneering, quality control, etc., is needed, andhow the sericulture administrative organization and political financial management
operations should proceed must also be studied. Furthermore, in accordance withthis recognition, a long-term sericulture promotion project based on East Africa’s
original strategy must be created, and international financial support must be13

sought.
3) Human resource development such as specialists and advanced technicalexperts
Up to now, it is very regrettable that support by advanced countries has focusedon hardware provision, such as machinery. The development of human resources
should have been the prime task.
Executive experts who directly deal with or have a strong influence in thesericulture administration must be trained as human resources, at first. Next, as
the high level sericulture engineers, the experts in each field of silkworm breeds
maintenance, silkworm egg production, mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, andsilk reeling must be trained, and experiment laboratories must be established bythese experts and technology development, succession and extension of technology
should be implemented in the laboratories. Without such experts, at the very least,a strategy for sericulture promotion and a long-term promotion plan that meets thecondition of each country cannot be considered.
Furthermore, with regards to sericulture farmers, proper trainings are neededin order to introduce bivoltine sericulture.
4)

Demand pioneering for the domestic and international market

The biggest challenge of sericulture development of East Africa is that it is notconnected to market, in other words, to demand. The biggest reason why there is
still confusion even with 30 years of history is that sericulture production is not
linked to the market. So, they have not realized that thinking ‘all you have to do is
produce it and then you can sell it at a high price’ is wrong. Since domestic demandfor cocoons and raw silk is not reliable, the goal is to export. However quality andvolume are insufficient and the products cannot be sold. So the silk reeling factoryruns out of money and stops operation. In silkworm egg production, it is impossible
to produce high quality silkworm eggs because of inappropriate maintenance ofsilkworm races as well as a lack of electricity and technology. Thus, the distribution
cycle from production to sale does not circulate, and comes to a standstill.
This is closely related to the reasons previously described in item 3 above.
Specifically, it is the result of production without the target or goal for production.
In other words, production activity was carried out without the target, the quality
and the price of cocoons or the amount of raw silk.
For example, according to the survey in Uganda, there are roughly 50,000
Indians back in Uganda carrying out economic activities. If that is so, a demand canbe expected since the sari is an indispensable item for women from India. Also, a
14

local woman was seen wearing ethnic costume, Gomesh made from silk, so
development of silk demand can be expected for the local dress. If you really want topromote sericulture, this kind of viewpoint is a very important.
The situation in Ethiopia with eri silkworm rearing was little different. There
are two small scale companies that produce and sell manufactured goods made fromeri silk to foreigners. It was a rare case in East Africa, which demand andproduction were linked together. However it was said that only about 800kg erisilkworm cocoons are produced annually and upgrading and expansion cannot be
expected under the current situation.
From the above, development of new demand can be said to be the high-priority
issue from now. Various measures can be considered. For example, support to start
domestic eri sericulture companies such as the one described above, to attract
foreign companies, especially inviting silk reeling and textile factories to produce
saris for Indians, and the production of cocoons and raw silk for those factories witha clear goal of quality, quantity, and price in mind.
5) Long-term promotion project and framework of responsibility under the strong
leadership of the central government
In order to entails creating a new industry, sericulture, a long-term promotion
project of more than 20 years must be established under the strong leadership andresponsibility of the central government. The current basic plan considered for eachcountry does not show any strategies for export for countries which have nodomestic demand for cocoons and raw silk. Also, the planned budget cannot becovered by a government funded budget, so it is doubtful that this plan has any
operability. From now, the considerations on the plan from local sericulture experts
who have completed trained, or from experts of sericulture from developed countries,
and reconsideration after a full understanding of the status of sericulture of theworld are needed. The plan needs consistency, promise of steady and sureeffectiveness, even though this may take time and the government may change.
A detailed enforcement plan with economical technical proof must be preparedand carried out by trained local sericulture experts. Of course, domestic and foreign
demand pioneering and specific goals for the targeted market must also be set.
Then, according to the plan, in order, the establishment of administrative special
sections to form the basic framework to start the sericulture industry, experimentlaboratories, silkworm egg production centers, silk reeling factories, quality
inspection stations for cocoons and raw silk, technical extension centers, andtraining centers for sericulture extension workers are needed.
Another task when starting a new sericulture industry is how the central
government can bear their responsibility through the period until the industry can
15respond to the new demand. In other words, it is doubtful that cocoons and raw silkof the desired quality and amount can be produced in the first several years, even if
cocoon production begins with a feasible plan and technology with reasonableproduction goals. How much time is required before the goals can be met is
unknown, but the government must create the system, such as purchasing cocoonsfrom the sericulture farmers and raw silk from the silk reeling companies forcertain period of time. New development is thought to be possible only throughgovernment commitment. The will and responsibility as a strong nation with
political commitment is needed, even if support from other countries is sought.
6)

Maintenance of the basic infrastructure

Depending on the country, with scheduled blackouts every other day, the lack ofelectricity can be considered fatal. As for water, some farms did not have a watersupply. From the standpoint of the weather, the conditions of the highlands is that
there is a large temperature difference between day and night, with low
temperatures in the morning dropping under 20°C, which is not best suited forsilkworm rearing. In other words, problems with water use for disinfection, washingby the farmer, and heating in low temperatures during silkworm rearing are major
stumbling blocks in silkworm rearing.
In particular, the lack of electricity and water are mortal blows to the sericultureindustry, and the performance of bivoltine sericulture silkworm egg production andpreservation is doubtful without some kind of countermeasures.
Sericulture industry is not just the cultivation products in the field. It must be
fully recognize that producing cocoons and raw silk as industry material,
homogeneity of quality and a set volume are required. Furthermore, infrastructure
maintenance is an essential basic condition for the promotion of sericulture in East
Africa if export to a foreign country is the goal.
7) Interaction with sericulture developed countries and introduction of foreigntechnology
As already mentioned, East Africa has not actively pursued interaction with
sericulture developed countries. Various projects have been carried out up to now,
but the approach that eagerly seeks to know the status of world sericulture and thetrends of the international market and efforts to introduce sericulture technology
have not been observed. However, from now, interaction with sericulture developed
countries such as China and India is needed to actively promote the search forsuitable methods and promotion measures for the sericulture industry in East
Africa. Also, if the goal of East Africa is to export, related executives and leaders
16

must have detailed understanding and recognition of the status and description ofsilk producing countries and silk consumption countries.
Many things can be learned from developed countries regarding administration,technical development, and technology extension. In particular, interaction with
India which has a large sericulture industry, belongs to the same tropical zone, andis geographically close, is desired in future.
East Africa currently lacks interaction with developed countries of thesericulture industry, and has not sufficiently learned from other countries. From
now, seriously seeking an expedient way to start an appropriate sericultureindustry for each country is expected.

17

JAICAF
Japan Association forInternational Collaboration ofAgriculture and Forestry
Akasaka KSA Bldg., 8-10-39 Akasaka,
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052, Japan
Tel: +81-3-5772-7880
Fax: +81-3-5772-7680