• Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched ‘Amul Honey’, a new product developed by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) along with National Bee Board. 

• Tomar said the government is promoting bee-keeping among small farmers to double their income. About Rs 500 crore budget has been set aside for this purpose.

• The National Bee Board was established to undertake several activities. For instance, five major laboratories and 100 mini-honey testing labs are being established to check the quality of honey.

• Tomar said that there are 86 per cent small farmers in the country. In order to increase the income of these small farmers, it is necessary to connect them with other dimensions of agriculture like beekeeping. 

• The minister stressed on the need to improve local honey standards to the global level and promote export.

• GCMMF, which owns Amul brand, has made major contributions in bringing White Revolution in the country.

National Beekeeping and Honey Mission

• Following the call for a ‘Sweet Revolution’ by PM Narendra Modi in 2017, the government has been encouraging large numbers of farmers for production and marketing of honey and to earn more profit in agriculture.

• National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is a central sector scheme for overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping and production of quality honey and other beehive products. 

• It is implemented through the National Bee Board as a central sector scheme (100 per cent funded by central government). 

It has three Mini Missions:

1) Mini Mission-I: Under this Mission, thrust will be given on production and productivity improvement of various crops through pollination assisted by adoption of scientific beekeeping.

2) Mini Mission-II: This Mission will concentrate on post harvest management of beekeeping/ beehive products including collection, processing, storage, marketing, value addition, etc with a thrust to develop requisite infrastructural facilities for these activities

3) Mini Mission-III: This Mission will concentrate on research & technology generation for different regions/states/agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.

Objectives of NBHM: 

• Promoting holistic growth of the beekeeping industry for income and employment generation, providing livelihood support to farm and non-farm households and to enhance agriculture/ horticulture production.

• Developing additional infrastructural facilities for developing quality nucleus stock of honey bees, multiplication of stock by bee breeders, setting up of disease diagnostic labs, beekeeping equipment manufacturing units, post-harvest and marketing infrastructures including quality control labs individually as well as by setting up of Integrated Beekeeping Development Centres (IBDCs)/ Centres of Excellence (CoEs) on Beekeeping.

• To promote, develop and disseminate latest and state-of-the-art technologies and skill development in the beekeeping industry for production of honey and other high value beehive products.

• Empowerment of women through beekeeping. 

• To maximise, economic, ecological and social benefits by diversification through beekeeping by production of higher quantity and good quality honey and other high value beehive products, such as bee wax, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, comb honey, bee venom, etc for domestic and export market.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store