India’s National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) is playing a significant role in strengthening cooperative-led honey production through its support to the Chambal Fed Shahad Utpadak Sahakari Samiti, a farmer-producer organisation engaged in producing high-quality, pure honey.
The initiative operates under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission and the central government’s Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations scheme, aimed at enhancing farmer incomes through collective enterprise and value addition.
The Chambal Fed honey FPO, registered in Madhya Pradesh in November 2020, was the first cooperative of its kind in the country and marked an important milestone in organised beekeeping at the grassroots level.
With NAFED’s institutional backing, the cooperative has enabled small and marginal beekeepers to pool their produce, access better processing facilities and enter organised markets with branded products that meet quality and purity standards.
Through this support system, NAFED has facilitated collective procurement of raw honey, improved post-harvest handling, processing and packaging, and provided market linkages that were previously beyond the reach of individual beekeepers.
This has not only ensured better price realisation for producers but has also helped establish consumer trust in cooperative-branded honey products. Products such as Chamtshya Honey reflect the emphasis on purity, traceability and cooperative ownership that underpins the initiative.
The honey initiative fits within the broader vision of India’s “Sweet Revolution”, which seeks to expand scientific beekeeping, enhance pollination services, increase honey production and boost exports while creating sustainable livelihood opportunities in rural areas. Training programmes, capacity building and exposure to modern beekeeping practices have helped member farmers diversify income sources and reduce dependence on traditional cropping alone.
Beyond honey, NAFED has been actively involved in strengthening agricultural marketing across commodities. As a national-level cooperative marketing agency, it plays a critical role in procurement operations under the Price Support Scheme, particularly for pulses and oilseeds, helping protect farmers from price volatility.
NAFED has also expanded its branded consumer product portfolio, marketing items such as pulses, rice, edible oils, spices and millets through retail outlets and general trade channels.
In addition, the federation is supporting value-added agricultural products under initiatives like One District One Product and promoting millets as a climate-resilient crop with growing consumer demand. The introduction of digital platforms for transparent e-auctioning of agricultural commodities further reflects NAFED’s push towards modernising cooperative marketing.
By linking farmer collectives to markets, technology and branding, NAFED’s engagement with Chambal Fed and similar cooperatives demonstrates how cooperative institutions can drive inclusive growth, enhance rural incomes and build sustainable agri-value chains across India.
