Govt to sanction Rs 10 cr for developing bee centre
SHILLONG/TURA: Chairman of Farmers Commission KN Kumar on Tuesday said the central government has approved Rs 10 crore for the establishment of an Integrated Bee Development Centre (IBDC) in the state.
Addressing a meeting of beekeepers of East Khasi Hills district in the presence of Director of National Bee Board, BL Saraswat, and Agriculture Department officers, Kumar said the fund is being sanctioned under Article 275 (1) from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Saraswat said the state government had mooted the IBDC to push for beekeeping in the state.
He said that IBDC will have basic requirements for beekeeping in one place. “The priority of the IBDC is to serve small and marginal farmers. Even landless farmers can go for beekeeping,” he said.
Saraswat maintained that setting up of IBDC will not be a problem as it is approved in principle. He said, “The state government has got approval of funds for the Centre. There is no problem as once it is approved in principle, the DPR will be submitted to the concerned organisation and funds released”.
Speaking about the potential of beekeeping in the state, Kumar said that over 7000 individuals have been trained in honey bee rearing and beekeeping and the production has since gone up in the state.
He added that the state has marketed honey to Europe and America.
However, Kumar said that the state has not be able to expand honey bee production due to problems which include excessive consumption of pesticides and climate change which forces bees to travel further to procure nectar.
He added that there is also the production of wild honey but commercial bee rearers have also gone up.
Saraswat encourages scientific beekeeping
Saraswat in his speech said that he aims to promote scientific beekeeping which will in a way enhance the livelihood of the farmers and beekeepers.
“The main constraint for India is that we are not adopting scientific method of beekeeping. Beekeeping is a gold mine, we only have to adopt proper management,” he said.
Having visited some beekeeping areas in Garo Hills, he said that North East has very good potential for beekeeping.
He highlighted that the main honey bee species in Meghalaya is Trigona and he decided to develop a special package and project it to the world. “I am working in it,” he said.
With Garo Hills affected by elephant attacks on agricultural fields and humans, Saraswat went on to add that human-elephant conflict can be minimised through scientific beekeeping.
Later, speaking to a section of the press, he said that he visited some areas in North Garo Hills during which a meeting of beekeepers was also organised on Monday.
“The people here are keen on beekeeping but they need a lot of training and knowledge,” he said. Northeastern states with Meghalaya in particular have the potential for beekeeping which which only needs to be tapped.
“The states here have very good quality honey which can fetch remunerative prices,” Saraswat said.
In a separate programme in North Garo Hills, beekeepers have also been urged to inculcate scientific beekeeping to increase the production of bee related products in the region. The idea was encouraged during the beekeepers meet held for apiculturists of North and East Garo Hills district at SGSY Hall, Resubelpara C & RD Block on Monday. It was organised by District Horticulture Office, North Garo Hills. It aims to promote awareness on scientific beekeeping and support beekeepers to voice their grievances faced by them in their beekeeping business.
Dr B L Sarswat, Executive Director, National Bee Board (NBB) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, New Delhi interacted with beekeepers of the two districts on the enormous potential of scientific beekeeping.
Sarswat lauded the contribution meted out by them in uplifting the socio-economic status of the people and said “beekeeping generates employment as well as boost agricultural income”.
Besides other bee products such as honey, pollen, propolis and wax, bee venom also has market value as it is found to have medicinal properties added Sarswat. He also advised them to keep bee boxes out during flowering season to attract honey bees as they act as important pollinators responsible for increase productivity in the agri-horti sectors. Sarswat also highlighted the various training modules being offered by NBB and also encouraged beekeepers to register with the Board and urged them to follow advisories issued by NBB for scientific beekeeping.
During the meet, beekeepers expressed shortage of bee box, safety gears, honey extractor machine, smoke machine etc. They also cited problems of pesticides and marketing strategy and appealed to the organising department to redress their issues.