Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has taken a big leap towards “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” by creating local employment for migrant workers through its flagship “Honey Mission” program. Minister of State for MSME, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi distributed 700 bee boxes to 70 migrant workers of Saharanpur and Bulandshahr districts of Uttar Pradesh today and thus providing them with livelihood opportunity under Honey Mission.

Rising to the call of the Prime Minister for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, KVIC identified these workers, imparted them 5-days training on beekeeping and provided the necessary tool kit and bee boxes to them to carry out beekeeping activities. The entire western Uttar Pradesh region, with abundance of flora that includes a variety of crops, is ideal for honey production. Bee boxes were distributed at KVIC’s training center in Panjokera.

Notably, the Honey Mission launched by KVIC 3 years ago aims at creating employment for farmers, Adivasis, women and unemployed youth by roping them with beekeeping and increasing India’s honey production. So far, KVIC has distributed 1.35 lakh bee boxes in states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Tripura among others. This has benefited 13,500 people across the country while producing nearly 8500 MT honey.

Beekeeping not only will increase India’s honey production but it will also increase the income of the beekeepers & products such as bee wax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and bee venom are also marketable and hence, a profitable proposition for the locals.

About Honey Mission Program of KVIC

As a part of 'Sweet Revolution' Ministry of MSME in-principle sanctioned Rs. 49.78 Crores in favor of KVIC for Honey Mission with the aims to provide sustainable employment and income to rural & urban unemployed youth, both educated & uneducated, men & women by conserving the honeybee habitat and tapping untapped natural resources.

Objective of Honey Mission

    a) Create an end-to-end implementation framework for beekeeping skill development, which provides employment opportunities and income generation to agriculturists, beekeepers rural & urban unemployed youth.

    b) Enforce nationally acceptable standards of Good Beekeeping Practices (GPB) in the country.

    c) Develop a network of quality master trainers in the field of beekeeping for imparting Good Beekeeping / Apicultural Practices.

    d) Offer a passage for overseas market for hive products.

    e) Enable pathways from novice beekeepers to viable commercial beekeeping by handholding to credit linkages.

    f) Promote convergence and co-ordination between all the stakeholders of beekeeping in India.

    g) Maintain a national database, which will act as a portal for matching the demand and supply in the country. On the other hand, it will also

    h) serve as a platform for monitoring the performance of existing beekeepers and their skills, available bee colonies and their production in each state.

    i) to tap the local & rural natural resources for generation of income and employment to rural & tribal people in selected pockets.

    j) To bring qualitative & quantitative enhancement in honey & hive products for export and domestic market. 

    k) To promote beekeeping for increasing the crop productivity and pollination services avenue for beekeepers and farmers.

Honey Mission program is working in tandem with National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) for overall promotion & development of scientific beekeeping and production of quality honey & other beehive products. 

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)