Sericulture in Cuba: Scientific advances and challenges

Cuba’s National Sericulture Project was started in 2011, in order to develop products from the silkworm cocoon for the biopharmaceutic, biotechnological and cosmetic industries. The Project has developed its scientific foundations in the course of these years, as well as the scaling of silkworm rearing in three stages. This paper shows results and implemented methodologies in the period 2011-2021. The results of the efficiency rate for the Integrated System Morus alba-Bombyx mori with an agroecological approach, are also presented. The main products derived from the silkworm cocoonsso far, have been silk thread, sericin hydrolyzed and fibroin nanoparticles. The main challenges of the Project are focused on the incorporation, evaluation and development of new breeds of Bombyx mori L.; egg production; the expansion to production scale through an integrated rearing management, all these based on a circular economy, as well as the attainment and development of new products from the silkworm cocoon.