SHILLONG, Dec 21: Drawing focus on the dwindling number of bees, particularly in urban areas and in places where chemical fertilizers are used, Meghalaya Agriculture Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh, on Tuesday, stressed on the importance of preserving the environment for the benefit and survival of all even as he urged all line departments to work together for the benefit of the farmers of the state.
The minister was speaking a programme in which bee hives were distributed to master beekeepers with the objective to give further boost to the Apiculture Mission in the state, at the Conference Hall, Directorate of Agriculture. The minister also released the Mission Document of Apiculture Mission 2.0 on the day.
Altogether 35 master beekeepers hailing from Ri-Bhoi district, West Jaintia Hills, East Jaintia Hills, East Khasi Hills, East West Khasi Hills and South West Khasi Hills received bee hives on the day. The programme was organised by the Directorate of Horticulture as part of the 50th Statehood Day celebration. In his address, the Agriculture minister emphasised on the importance of scientific bee rearing for larger production of honey.
On the other hand, Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Dr. Vijay Kumar, said that although the state boasts of a variety of honey and has a huge potential to produce quality honey, it is unfortunate that Meghalaya is still unable to fully leverage on this resource.
While a number of local entrepreneurs have been able to add value to honey through proper branding, he lamented the inability to create a value chain at the famers’ level, wherein honey is yet to be produced at a larger scale and processed properly, packaged and sold in a way that gets the best price for farmers.
Informing that the goal of Apiculture Mission 2.0 is to work and support existing clusters while at the same time create new clusters and identify master beekeepers, Kumar said that in the first phase of the Mission, master beekeepers will be provided with free boxes, following which clusters will be trained and subsequently bee boxes will be provided to farmers at 50 per cent subsidy and 50 per cent interest-free bank loan.
