Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar laid the foundation stone for a honey processing unit at Devri Village in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. Morana is Tomar’s Parliamentary constituency.
Tomar lauded the efforts of NAFED, represented by its MD Sanjeev Kumar Chadha on the dais, for its remarkable efforts in helping farmers double their income as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The foundation stone laying ceremony was organized by NAFED with the help of the National Bee Board, the FPOs and Cooperative Societies. The function was also attended by Bharat Singh Kushwaha, Minister of State, Government of Madhya Pradesh, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said it is high time alternative sources of income were found for farmers who derived their livelihoods solely from agriculture. The govt wishes to see the farmers coming together and forming FPOs to take care of their needs, Tomar added.
Lauding Nafed’s role for the farmers since its inception on October 2, 1958, the Minister said Nafed through its technical partner Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP), is promoting the FPOs on Honey under the Central Sector Scheme of Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs anchored by the Ministry and supported by the National Mission on Beekeeping and Honey (NBHM).
He explained that FPOs would help the small, marginal and landless farmers, and likewise the beekeepers gain better access to market, capital, and technology. He assured that in future also, all possible help would be provided to farmers for doubling their income.
The minister wished good luck to the FPOs of the beekeepers being developed by Nafed in states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. About four to five thousand honey producers would be associated with these five honey FPOs.
Giving a rough estimate, the Minister informed that about 60,000 quintals of honey would be extracted and processed at the processing units and sold directly to the consumers with the help of NAFED. Along with honey production, technical know-how and export of their products would also be ensured under the project for the overall development of the honey producers, he hoped.
NAFED MD Sanjeev Chadha, FIFA MD Pankaj Prasad Singh, Rajbir Singh and the MD of National Horticulture Board were also present along with the farmers and representatives of beekeepers’ FPOs and honey production.
The Union Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal, Additional Secretary Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, and other important officers of the Ministry of Agriculture-Honey Mission too remained virtually connected.
Several local leaders including District Panchayat President Smt Geeta Harshana, local MLAs Rakesh Mawai, Subedar Singh and Ajab Singh Kushwaha, BJP District President Yogesh Pal Gupta, and former MLA Raghuraj Kansana were also present on the occasion.
