Workers collect silkworm cocoons for use in the production of silk at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

A worker collects silkworm cocoons for use in the production of silk at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

Sameh Ahmed Fouad collects mulberry leaves to feed silkworms to produce silk at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

Sameh Ahmed Fouad collects reeling silk thread from the silkworm cocoons at a silk thread factory at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

Silkworms eat mulberry leaves at a silk thread factory at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

Sameh Ahmed Fouad collects reeling silk thread from the silkworm cocoons at a silk thread factory at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

A worker collects white silkworm cocoons for use in the production of silk at Abu Ghalib village, Giza Governorate, Egypt August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Hana Habib 

Ethnic Palaung women and their children collect silkworm cocoons in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Silkworm cocoons are seen ready for harvest after two weeks of growing, in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A group of ethnic Palaung workers clean off trays for baby silkworms at a mulberry farm in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Saw Kyi Ti Mu, 37, an ethnic Palaung woman, collects mulberry leaves to feed silkworms in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A base camp house for a Chinese company DH Silco Enterprise workers is seen at a mulberry farm in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A worker (R) from DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, delivers a new round of silkworms to farmers in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

An ethnic Palaung woman mills rice after picking leaves to feed silkworms in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Chinese workers and their translators from DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, cheer each other for the first harvest of the year of silkworm cocoons at their base camp in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A farmer arrives at a base camp of DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, to collect a new round of silkworms in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

An ethnic Palaung woman holds silkworm cocoons in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A dried poppy is seen in a field next to a mulberry farm in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Children stand outside their houses near mulberry and silkworm farm in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Aung Myo Tho, 35, an ethnic Palaung woman stands in the only shower for the village after picking mulberry leaves to feed silkworms in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Ethnic Palaung workers walk to work at a mulberry farm in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Min Min Tun (C), 36, an ethnic Palaung woman, waits with her children as freshly harvested silkworm cocoons are being weighed to be sold to DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Ethnic Palaung workers collect mulberry leaves to feed silkworms in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Aung Myo Tho (R), 35, an ethnic Palaung woman and children stand outside their houses near mulberry and silkworm farm in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Zhou Xing Ci, 42, walks across a small bridge outside his house surrounded by his mulberry farm in Tangyan township, Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Silkworms are being fed with mulberry leaves in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Aung Myo Tho, 35, an ethnic Palaung woman, takes care of her baby after a day of work at a mulberry and silkworm farm in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Zhou Xing Ci's family have farmed poppies for as long as anyone remembers, scraping the flowers' sticky brown sap to produce opium. Along with many other farmers in the hills of eastern Myanmar, the crop Ð much of which ends up as heroin sold on foreign streets - has in recent years put Myanmar behind only Afghanistan as the world's leading source of opium. A Chinese company working with farmers hopes the silk-producing larva can help the farmers, and their country, quit the drug. "Growing opium is too tough. It's only one harvest every year and a rain can easily destroy a whole year's work," said Zhou. The price for opium has fallen, he said, and growing poppies risked running afoul of heavy-handed eradication efforts by Myanmar authorities. The price drop, alongside the rise of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, has contributed to a 25 percent fall in the total area of Myanmar under poppy cultivation since 2015, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The U.N. agency has assisted more than 1,000 farmers to switch from opium to another cash crop, coffee, since 2014, said Troels Vester, UNODC country manager for Myanmar. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. Matching text: MYANMAR-SILKWORMS/ 

Ethnic Palaung workers collect mulberry leaves to feed silkworms in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Food lies on a table at a base camp of DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A translators for Chinese workers waits for lunch at a base camp of DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A notebook containing the list of farmers that need to receive next round of silkworms from Chinese workers from DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, is seen in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Farmers receive payment for their first harvest of the year of silkworm cocoons at a base camp of DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, in Tangyan township in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Silkworm cocoons dry at one of the base camps of DH Silco Enterprise, a Chinese company, in Lashio, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Ethnic Palaung men wait by a truck after loading it with silkworm cocoons in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Shan women react after being paid for selling silkworm cocoons from their first harvest of the year, in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

An ethnic Palaung woman collects silkworm cocoons in Wanpaolong village in Lashio District, northern Shan State, Myanmar, April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "MYANMAR SILKWORMS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Silkmoths are seen at the CRA research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Despite having wings, the adult moth cannot fly. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

A silkmoth that has hatched out of its cocoon is seen at the CRA research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Despite having wings, the adult moth cannot fly. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Silkmoths that have hatched out of their cocoons are seen at the CRA research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Despite having wings, the adult moth cannot fly. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

Silkworm cocoons are seen in a box at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

Silkworm cocoons are seen stored in a box at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi? 

A frame spins a thread of silk from a cocoon on an antique loom at the Campoverde cooperative in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

A frame spins a thread of silk from a cocoon on an antique loom at the Campoverde cooperative in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi? 

A woman spins a thread of silk from a cocoon on an antique loom at the Campoverde cooperative in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Silk cocoons are displayed in a glass jar in the museum at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

Silk cocoons are displayed in glass jars in the museum at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi? 

Silk cocoons are displayed in the glass jars in the museum at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

A silkmoth is seen at the CRA research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Despite having wings, the adult moth cannot fly. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi? 

A silkmoth is seen at the CRA research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Despite having wings, the adult moth cannot fly. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi? 

A silkmoth sits in a box of silkworm cocoons like the one from which it has recently emerged, at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

A silkmoth sits on a box of silkworm cocoons like the one from which it has recently emerged, at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. The Padua research unit houses some 200 different genetic types of silkworm. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

A late-developing silkworm sits suspended in the fibres its fellow larvae released as they spun their own cocoons, at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Two late-developing silkworms are seen as they munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Two late-developing silkworms are seen as they munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

A late-developing silkworm is seen as it munches on piles of locally-grown mulberry at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

Two late-developing silkworms are seen as they munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi? 

A late-developing silkworm is seen as it arrives to munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry at the CRA agricultural research unit in Padua, Italy, June 4, 2015. Clusters of silkworms munch on piles of locally-grown mulberry leaves in a white marquee in Italy's northern Veneto region. They are nourishing hopes of a revival of Italy's 1,000 year-old silk industry. Picture taken June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi