The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India celebrated World Bee Day on 20th May, 2023 at Raja Bhoj Agriculture College, Waraseoni Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.
The World Bee Day celebration was graced by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in the august presence of Agriculture Minister, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Chairman, OBC Welfare Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Chairman, NDDB and other dignitaries on the dais.
In his deliberation, Shri Tomar mentioned that under the “10,000 FPO Scheme” of the Government of India, in order to strengthen the beekeepers in the country by developing the institutional framework for collective development, 100 bee keepers / honey producers FPOs have been allocated under NBHM for which TRIFED, NAFED and NDDB have been selected. In this sequence, a total of 80 FPOs of bee keepers /honey producers have been registered. Further he stated that there is huge potential for honey production in this area which must be utilized for increasing farmer’s income.
During the World Bee Day celebration, an Exhibition with over 100 stalls were set up by Beekeepers, processors and different stake holders of beekeeping sector to showcase the diverse varieties of honey bee and different products in beekeeping sector. More than 1000 farmers, beekeepers, processors, entrepreneurs and all stakeholders associated with honey production attended the programme.
A workshop with three technical sessions was organized on different themes. Need of Research & Development to promote Scientific Beekeeping for Income Generation. Driving Growth through Effective Marketing Strategies for Domestic & Export Market. Production Technology and Research & Development of Scientific Beekeeping- Experience Sharing and Challenges. Productive Partnership in Honey- Industries Insights. Marketing Challenges and Solutions (Domestic/ Global).
The programme is aimed at promoting and popularizing beekeeping nation-wide National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) of the Govt. of India under Atma-Nirbhar Bharat. The NBHM is implemented through the National Bee Board for overall promotion of scientific beekeeping & entrepreneurship among small & marginal farmers, infrastructure development for postharvest management and support for research & development and to achieve the goal of “Sweet Revolution”.