- The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission was announced by the Union Government as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package in 2020.
- The scheme is implemented by the National Bee Board (NBB) and is approved for three years from 2020 to 2023.
- The scheme is aimed at the overall development and promotion of scientific beekeeping in India to achieve the objectives of the Sweet Revolution.
- The scheme is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, GOI.
- It is a central sector scheme (100% central government funding).
- The scheme will work in tandem with the various other schemes related to beekeeping such as KVIC’s Honey Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and the ministries of rural development, MSME, AYUSH, commerce and industry, tribal affairs, etc.
National Beekeeping & Honey Mission: Objectives
- Foster the holistic growth of the beekeeping industry for income & employment generation for farm and non-farm households.
- Augment horticulture/agriculture production.
- Develop infrastructural facilities including establishing Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre (IBDC)s/CoE, bee disease diagnostic labs, honey testing labs, custom hiring centres, nucleus stock, Api-therapy centres, bee breeders, etc.
- Empower women via beekeeping.
- Develop blockchain/traceability system for traceability of the source of honey & other beehive products; and employing IT tools in beekeeping, including online registration, etc.
- Create and enable honey corridors in potential areas.
- Encourage agri-entrepreneurs & agri-startups in beekeeping/honey production.
- Promote trade agreements between traders/exporters and beekeepers.
- Foster, develop and diffuse the latest and state-of-the-art technologies and skill development in the beekeeping industry for the production of honey & other high-value beehive products.
- Boost beekeepers through an institutional framework for a collective approach like SHGs, FPOs, etc.
- Magnify the economic, social and ecological benefits by diversification through beekeeping by producing a higher quantity & good quality of honey and other high-value beehive products such as beeswax, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, comb honey, bee venom, etc. for domestic and global markets.
- It also aims to make farmers aware about the
- Distribution of specialized Beekeeping equipments for producing high value products, viz. Royal Jelly, Bee Venom, Comb Honey, etc,
- Studies on exploring potential of High Altitude Honey, production of special honey in Kannauj & Hathras Districts of UP.
- Use of mustard honey to cure colon cancer.
Besides, NBHM has three sub-missions or sub-schemes, namely, Mini Mission – I, II and III.
- Mini Mission I
- Here, the focus is on the production and productivity enhancement of different crops through pollination aided by adopting scientific beekeeping.
- It aims to create awareness about scientific beekeeping. States will be assisted in the setting up of state bee boards/state beekeeping and honey missions.
- Mini Mission II
- Here, the focus is on post-harvest management of beekeeping, beehive products, including collection, processing, storage, marketing, value addition, etc.
- Mini Mission III
- Here, the focus is on the generation of research and technology for different states/regions and agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.