On the occasion of Inamdar’s Centenary celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan three years ago, the Prime Minister had talked of bee-keeping as a viable alternative source of income for farmers. The giant agri cooperative Nafed has picked up the gauntlet and launched five honey FPOs to begin with.
The launching was done digitally by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
These Honey FPOs are spread in the states of Bihar, UP, MP, West Bengal & Rajasthan. The function was attended by senior officials from Govt of India, NAFED, Representatives of FPOS and farmers from the states.
Talking to Indian Cooperative one of the top officials of Nafed said the creation of 5 Honey FPO’s is not the end of the game as Nafed is ready with a blueprint of launching about 50 Honey FPOs across the country.
Lauding the initiative of the agri co-op, Union Minister Tomar said the move will benefit honey collectors and marginal farmers by facilitating quality enhancement of their produce through systematic collection, processing, packaging, standardization and connecting them to the markets and value chain.
Adding, the official said, “Creation of these 5 FPOs, will help approximately 5000 beekeepers. NAFED & National Bee Board would provide hand holding to the bee keepers in this venture. NAFED is making all the necessary arrangements. Farmers are requested to register themselves.”
It bears recall that though Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium is the main agency tasked with promoting FPOs in the country, there are others including Nafed, Nabard and NCDC also involved in the exercise.
The Nafed initiative is also noteworthy in the sense that despite having a huge potential, beekeeping is mostly confined to the unorganised sector and it desperately needs an uplift in terms of process, technology and standardization of its quality.
Nafed’s involvement means the bee-keepers can rest assured of getting back respectable remuneration, quipped a Nafed official. Each of the FPOs launched by Nafed last week involved more than 50 villages at least, he underlined. “It’s a Sweet Revolution in making”, he quipped, reminding of Modi’s words.
Efforts will also be made to explore the foreign market to improve the returns for the beekeepers and honey collectors, Nafed officials assert.
It bears recall that the govt has announced the formation of 10 thousand FPOs across the country. With a revitalized Nafed, the agri co-operative can look forward to playing a major role.