"Beekeeping Boosts Crop Production By 30%": KVIC Chairman

Manoj Kumar said in his speech at the Khadi Honey Mission dialogue programme in Kaithal, Haryana, which also included the distribution of 200 bee boxes to 20 beekeepers in the village of Devra, "Beekeeping is the medium of the sweet revolution; more income can be earned by joining this work."

In his speech, he also characterized the beekeeping sector as an environmentally friendly one that not only generates income but also boosts crop productivity by 30% through the bees' spread of pollen grains.

He claimed that because of the industry's advantages, the nation is now concentrating heavily on increasing honey production. The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is a new Central Sector Scheme approved by the Government of India for the overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping and production of quality honey, along with other beehive products to encourage the holistic development of beekeeping, in order to achieve the goal of the "Sweet Revolution" in the nation.

Three mini missions are said to be followed by the NBHM: Mini Mission I, under which the government will focus on improving crop production and productivity through pollination assisted by the adoption of scientific beekeeping; Mini Mission II, under which they will focus on post-harvest management of beekeeping and beehive products including the collection, processing, storage, marketing, and value addition with a thrust to develop necessary infrastructure; and Mini Mission III, under which they will focus on post-harvest management of beekeeping.

In order to promote beekeeping activities and offer self-sustaining employment opportunities to farmers, Adivasis, and unemployed youth in rural India, particularly in economically depressed and remote areas, the KVIC launched the Honey Mission Programe under the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in 2017–18. Beneficiaries of the aforementioned programme receive Bee Boxes, live bee colonies, tool kits, and training. According to a press release from the Press Information Bureau, the Commission (KVIC) has so far distributed 1 lakh 75 thousand bee boxes after offering beekeeping training to 17 thousand 500 beneficiaries nationwide.

The Ministry of MSME has also put into place a "Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries" (SFURTI), under which traditional beekeepers are given stable employment by grouping them into clusters and providing them with new equipment and training. The Ministry of Agriculture's NBHM programme promotes scientific beekeeping for the sector's overall growth, creating jobs and income while assisting households on farms and off farms with their daily needs.

KVIC adopted a novel innovation in the form of a mobile honey processing van in January 2022. The nation's first mobile honey processing van was unveiled by KVIC in a village in Uttar Pradesh. Since it used to be expensive for small farmers and beekeepers to transport honey to processing facilities, a mobile honey processing van was introduced to cut down on the costs of honey extraction and processing. Additionally, this van would allow processing to occur right at the doorsteps of farmers or beekeepers, eliminating any chance of honey contamination.

To take advantage of the opportunity, the KVIC has participated in several training programmes in the state. One of the top nations in the world for honey exports is India. India's domestic market for organic honey also supplies markets in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and Spain. During 2021–22, the nation exported 74,413 metric tonnes (MT) of honey for a total value of Rs 1,221.17 crore, primarily to the US, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Bangladesh, and Qatar. The National Bee Board, which is known to offer employment to more than 3 lakh rural residents, currently has 13,000 registered beekeepers.