New Delhi, Nov 28: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar recently inaugurated a cooperative programme for the beekeepers and honey collectors. The programme was launched in the selective states of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

 

Under the Honey FPO programme, five Farmer Producer Organisations are to be set up in the five states. They are to be established in East Champaran of Bihar, Bharatpur of Rajasthan, Morena of Madhya Pradesh, Mathura of Uttar Pradesh; and Sundarbans of West Bengal. The organisations are to be set up by the National Agricultural cooperative marketing Federation of India (NAFED).

 

These FPOs were launched under the Scheme of formation and promotion of ten thousand FPOs. The programme will address the issues of the beekeeping industry and NAFED will act as an intermediary to fill up the gaps between the elements of supply chain.

 

NAFED has a significant role in the implementation of the programme. It will ensure price remuneration to the beekeeping farmers and also work towards promotion of beekeeping as an occupation for unemployed women in the rural and tribal areas.

 

The Honey FPO programme is expected to change the lifestyle of small and marginal farmers which in turn will help India achieve the goal of doubling farmers income by 2022.

 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, India ranks 8th in the world in terms of honey production. We produce 64.9 thousand tonnes of honey per year while China stands first in Honey production and produces 550 thousand tonnes of honey per year.