Hyderabad: We all depend on the bees for our survival. Honeybees are one of the best pollinators which help in increasing the yield of various agricultural and horticultural crops through pollination support.
Further, it provides income and employment to the rural people by way of increasing the yield of various crops and providing honey and other beehive products, viz. Royal jelly, propolis, beeswax, pollen, comb honey, bee venom, etc.
It is also the source of livelihood for the rural poor. Therefore, honeybees/beekeeping is being treated as one of the most important 5th input for sustainable development of agriculture/horticulture.
As you are aware, beekeeping activities are being carried out by farmers in rural areas under the integrated farming system.
Keeping in view the importance of beekeeping, a component "Pollination Support through Beekeeping" has been incorporated in Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) for the development of scientific beekeeping in the country. Further, National Bee Board (NBB) has been designated/ recognized as a Nodal Agency for the overall development/promotion of scientific beekeeping in the country. The activities of beekeeping and projects of Integrated Development of Scientific Beekeeping, etc. are also being implemented under RKVY and other schemes of this Department.
In a meeting taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has been decided that at least one district in each state should be developed as a model /role model for beekeeping. In pursuance to this, NBB has initiated action and 16 Integrated Beekeeping Development Centres (IBDCs)/Centres of Excellence (CoEs) on Beekeeping have already been commissioned/ sanctioned in the states.
Further, the government of India has also approved a new Central Sector Scheme entitled “National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM)” for overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping in mission mode to achieve the goal of “Sweet Revolution” in the country by giving thrust on capacity building and trainings, specific focus on women, input support for promotion and production, setting up of Integrated Beekeeping Development Centres (IBDCs), other Infrastructures for processing, value addition, market support, including collection, grading, trading, etc. centres, etc., setting up of honey testing labs, bee disease diagnostic labs, development of nucleus stock & bee breeders, digitization/ online registration, etc., & R&D under 3 Mini Missions (MMs)-MM-I, MM-II & MM-III. An amount of Rs. 150.00 crores have been allotted for the year 2020-21 under the scheme.