Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the fact that Bee-Keeping could be an alternative source of income for farmers, private and govt efforts in this direction have intensified.
Celebrating Saturday as the World Bee Day, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated several Honey Testing Labs across India virtually while Assam’s dairy co-op West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Ltd (WAMUL) introduced local honey under its brand called ‘Purabi’ on the day.
Sourcing honey from the beekeepers of Assam for the products, this initiative is the first Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) promoted by WAMUL. Tomar celebrated World Bee Day at Raja Bhoj Agriculture College, Waraseoni Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.
In his remarks, Tomar mentioned that under the “10,000 FPO Scheme” a total of 80 FPOs of beekeepers and honey producers have been registered. Further he stated that there is huge potential for honey production in this area which must be utilized for increasing farmer’s income.
During the World Bee Day celebration, an Exhibition with over 100 stalls was set up by Beekeepers, processors and different stakeholders of the beekeeping sector to showcase the diverse varieties of honey bee and different products in the beekeeping sector. A workshop with three technical sessions was organized on different themes.
On this occasion the Honey Testing Labs were virtually inaugurated by Agriculture Minister viz., Regional Testing lab- IIHR, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Regional Testing lab, IARI, Pusa New Delhi, Mini Honey Testing Lab SKUAST Kashmir at KVK, Kupwara, J&K, Mini Honey Testing
Lab, KVK, Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, Mini Honey Testing Lab, Banaskantha District Co-op. Milk Prod. Uni. Ltd. Palanpur, Gujarat, Mini Honey Testing Lab, College of Agriculture, Pashighat, Arunachal Pradesh; Mini Honey Testing Lab, NIFTEM, Sonipat, Haryana; Bee Disease Diagnostic Center, FCRI, Hyderabad, Telangana.
On the occasion he also inaugurated Bee box Manufacturing Units- Honey & Other Beehive Products Collection centres, Trading, Branding and Marketing units at Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh & Uttar Pradesh.
India has exported 74413 MT of Natural Honey to the world worth Rs. 1221 crore (US $ 164.835 million) during 2020-21. The scientific technology being adopted has facilitated beekeepers to increase their income.