'Sweet Revolution' promises high income for farmers & good health for people

Beekeeping in India is thus an important agri-business activity that not only promises good returns to the farmers but also helps increase agricultural productivity leading to food and nutritional security of the country.

Hailing the Honey Lab at Banas Complex-Badarpura, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put forth the stides being made towards strengthening India’s sweet revolution. A 'Sweet Revolution' under country's 'Honey Mission' promises a lot of good for thousands of farmers across the country, besides ensuring a good health for crores of people. In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India celebrated World Bee Day on 20th May, 2023.  

Moreover, there is a clear focus of the government on harnessing the export potential of honey in line with PM Modi’s vision of a ‘sweet revolution’ through promotion of beekeeping and allied activities. Under the plan, Ministry of Commerce and Industry is trying hard for export promotion of honey involving exporters, stakeholders, entrepreneurs and government officials, where focus is on encouraging farmers towards honey farming by ensuring quality production.

Given the manifold rise in honey consumption across the globe especially after Covid-19 pandemic, exports of honey look quite attractive and prospective. Honey is known for its natural immunity booster characteristics and a healthier alternative to sugar. 

The agency APEDA is trying to boost honey exports to new countries. Presently, India’s natural honey exports are majorly dependent on one market the United States, which accounts for more than 80% of the exports.

As a part of the government’s AtmaNirbhar Bharat initiative to boost honey production, the government had approved an allocation of Rs 500 crore for the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) for three years (2020-21 to 2022-23).

Prime Minister Modi in the ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme had also stressed that honey has been given a lot of importance in Ayurveda. Honey has been described as an elixir. 

In the meantime, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar just inaugurated Honey Testing Lab. Tomar mentioned that under the “10,000 FPO Scheme” of the Government of India, in order to strengthen the beekeepers in the country by developing the institutional framework for collective development, 100 bee keepers or honey producers FPOs have been allocated under NBHM for which TRIFED, NAFED and NDDB have been selected. 

In this sequence, a total of 80 FPOs of bee keepers or honey producers have been registered. Further he stated that there is huge potential for honey production in this area which must be utilized for increasing farmer’s income.

It is worth-mentioning that diversified agro-climatic conditions of India provide great potential for beekeeping or honey production. India is producing about 1,33,200 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of Honey as per 2021-22- 3rd Advanced Estimate. India has exported 74413 MT of Natural Honey to the world worth Rs. 1221 crore during 2020-21. 

The scientific technology being adopted for increasing production and testing of honey by maintaining quality standards for national and international markets and promoting the production of other beehive products like- bee pollen, bees wax, royal jelly, propolis and bee venom. This has facilitated the beekeepers to increase their income and increased demand of honey and beehive products both in the domestic and international markets.

Bees are knowned for their role in providing high-quality food and other products used in healthcare and other sectors, but the work of bees entails much more. The greatest contribution of bees and other pollinators is the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food. Effective pollination increases the yield of agricultural produce and improves their quality. 

Beekeeping in India is thus an important agri-business activity that not only promises good returns to the farmers but also helps increase agricultural productivity leading to food and nutritional security of the country.