Socio-Economic Impact, Challenges, and Transformation of Muga Sericulture in Assam

A Comparative Study of Traditional and Modern Practices

Abstract

Muga sericulture, a silk-production tradition unique to Assam and protected under Geographical Indication status since 2007, occupies a significant place in the region's rural economy and cultural identity. This study examines the socio-economic contributions, structural challenges, and evolving dynamics of muga sericulture through four dimensions: community-level socio-economic impact, economic and infrastructural challenges, the interplay between traditional and modern practices, and the role of indigenous knowledge systems. Adopting a qualitative, exploratory research design, the study combines secondary literature — drawn from government reports, institutional publications, and academic sources — with primary data from semi-structured interviews conducted with 11 stakeholders, including farm owners, boutique owners, workers, and labourers across Guwahati and Sualkuchi, Assam. Findings indicate that muga sericulture continues to provide critical livelihood support and economic autonomy, particularly for women engaged in reeling, spinning, and weaving, while remaining deeply embedded in Assamese cultural identity. However, the sector faces compounding pressures, including the muga silkworm's ecological sensitivity, limited mechanization, fragmented market structures, and a decline in consumer willingness to pay premium prices amid globalisation, fast fashion, and pandemic-related disruption. Interviews further reveal an emerging generational disinterest in sericulture-based livelihoods, driven by expanding educational and career opportunities, which threatens the informal, family-based transmission of indigenous ecological and craft knowledge central to the industry's authenticity. The study finds that modernization has occurred unevenly across the value chain, concentrated in downstream marketing and retail rather than upstream rearing processes, creating structural asymmetries between production and market-facing actors. These interconnected findings suggest that the long-term viability of muga sericulture depends on coordinated interventions addressing income stability, market adaptation, technology diffusion, and knowledge preservation, rather than isolated, single-dimension solutions. Policy recommendations and directions for future research are proposed accordingly.