New Delhi: The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is mulling to give the status of farmers to landless beekeepers while recognising honeybees as inputs to agriculture and diversify the basket of beekeeping products. The move is aimed at doubling farmers' income by 2022.
As per the report of Bibek Debroy-led beekeeping development committee under the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, the panel had proposed over half-a-dozen recommendations to the PM to enhance the contribution of the sector in achieving the 2022 target of doubling farmer incomes.
The committee has suggested that the government institutionalising the National Bee Board and rechristening it as the Honey and Pollinators Board of India under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.
"Such a body would engage in advancing beekeeping through multiple mechanisms such as setting up of new integrated bee development centres, strengthening the existing ones, creating a honey price stabilization fund and collection of data on important aspects of apiculture," the committee has suggested.
According to the committee report, there is a need to simplifying procedures and specify clear standards for ease of exporting honey and other bee products.
As per Food and Agricultural Organization database, India ranked eighth in 2017-18 in the world in terms of honey production at 64.9 thousand tonnes while China stood first with a production level of 551 thousand tonnes.
As per the data from National Bee Board and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, India's recent efforts to improve the state of beekeeping have helped
increase the volume of honey exports from 29.6 to 51.5 thousand tonnes between 2014-15 and 2017-18.