One of India's oldest practices was beekeeping and bees' economic contributions are also priceless. India has become one of the world's most important honey markets, resulting in intense competition in terms of innovation and quality. Keeping the importance of beekeeping and the goal of the "Sweet Revolution," in mind Krishi Jagran organized a webinar today on World Bee Day, 20 May 2022.
Speakers that included farmers as well as experts participated and shared their views on awareness of beekeeping. The gist of the webinar is as follows;
Shruti Nigam from KJ team welcomed all the participants and talked about the importance of honey during Covid pandemic. Dr. P. K. Pant COO, KJ congratulated all the participants on the occasion of World Bee Day. He mentioned that Agriculture is not possible without bees.
Brijesh Kumar Verma, Progressive farmer, Honey Processing Plant Gosainganj, Lucknow shared that he started beekeeping in 1992 with the help of UP State Agriculture Commission. He mentioned that he faced some problems in starting phase but now everything is going well at his end.
Amit Godse from Bee Basket, Pune shared the importance of stingless bees in pollination and maintaining biodiversity. He shared that he is working since 2006 on this venture and along with the conservation of bees, his objective at Bee Basket is to infuse raw honey in its purest form for a healthier living. He also mentioned about the requirements of bee rescuers/friends who can save bee in cities.
Also, watch live Facebook interaction with Amit Godse on Beekeeping For Progressive and Tribal Farmers
Suresh Kumar Malhotra, Former Agriculture Commissioner, Former Mission Director, National Beekeeping Honey Mission, Ministry of Agriculture, congratulated KJ for organizing such a webinar on beekeeping. He also emphasized on creating awareness about beekeeping and the requirement of National honey bee mission. He mentioned that we need research, infrastructure, and integrated bee centre. He also told that in this direction 5 regional laboratories and 100 mini laboratories are planned. Out of which 5 regional laboratories and 30-35 mini laboratories have already been made and the rest of work is in progress. All the laboratories are required to keep a quality check on honey. He also mentioned that there are various central and state scheme provisions are there from which farmers can take benefit.
Dr. Balraj Singh, Project coordinator, PC cell, Division of Entomology, IARI, New Delhi, mentioned that as there is a decline in the population of Apis dorsata therefore his team is working on the domestication of Apis florea and also on recent problems of habitat loss and new diseases in bee keeping. He mentioned we need not neglect all the by-products of beekeeping like royal jelly, propalis, venom, wax and pollen (super food, pure protein). He also stated that beekeeping should come in form of pollination service providers so that employment upliftment for future.
Jagjit Singh Kapoor, Member, National Bee Board, Delhi said he wants India to be the best in beekeeping in the entire world. He shared that due to lack of education on beekeeping and its diseases, the export of honey is reduced.
Pankaj Singh from Khadi and Village Industry Commission, Honey mission program of India highlighted the need and requirement of honey quality checking laboratories and sale issues in Jharkhand state. He also suggested that MSP for Honey must be provided just like for various crops.
Laxmikant Tyagi, also shared that there should be a training/technical course on beekeeping so that technical staff can be available and honey quality issues can be addressed.
Gajendra Singh, Secretary, Beekeeping Honey Society talked about the need of creating awareness about by-products and honey packaging among beekeepers.
Devrat Sharma, Member, National Bee board, Delhi also focused everyone on honey quality and shared his suggestion on honey extraction so that raw honey can’t be extracted. He also explained about other by-products of beekeeping as there is huge potential in this.
Al last, Meenakshi Dhakad, founder, Dirghagu Bhavan, Madhya Pradesh shared her journey into this field. She told that she started her venture three years back and her honey brand name is Dighayu which is getting popular in nearby areas.
The webinar ended with a vote of thanks from Shruti, KJ Team.
