The Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir has said the cocoon production in the state has increased to 1,900 metric tonnes this year and has yielded Rs 11 crore this fiscal. “With the efforts of the government, the cocoon production of the state has reached 1,900 metric tonnes and the total income earned during this fiscal is Rs 11 crore," Mir said during a workshop on “Bivoltine Sericulture in Jammu and Kashmir”. The minister said the sericulture industry in the state was being revived. Various measures are already in place to regain state’s position as the best silk-producing state in the country, he added. He said due to prolonged unrest in the state, the industry had suffered and the state was lagging behind others in production. For boosting bivoltine sericulture in the state, Mir said it was the only state in the country where geographical conditions were favourable for it. The minister said there was no dearth of funds for revival of sericulture but there was a need for proper developmental strategies and their implementation to achieve the target. He called upon scientists of the Central Silk Board to come up with the latest technologies for development of sericulture in Jammu and Kashmir. He assured them that the government would make all efforts for providing financial assistance to give a boost to the industry. — PTI