Honey Farming: Today, after agriculture and animal husbandry, beekeeping has also become an important part of the rural economy. In the last few years, beekeeping has emerged as a new business opportunity. Many farmers and youth are now joining this sector. The biggest reason for this is the increasing demand for Indian foods abroad. Honey is also included in these foods, which has already established its identity in foreign countries for its natural sweetness, but the people associated with this sector are not able to get the expected profits.
This is the reason that now the exercise of getting Indian honey recognized at the international level is being started. Let us tell you that with the help of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, soon honey can also get Geographical Indication Tag (GI Tag). In this matter, the Ministry of Agriculture has held a meeting under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission.
Honey will also get GI Tag
According to the official Twitter handle of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Additional Secretary, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi discussed the need for ‘GI tagging of honey’ with senior officials of the Ministry of Agriculture.
In this meeting, Dr. Likhi said that GI tag is very important for handling and identifying high quality honey and its type and heritage. Meanwhile, several workshops will be organized soon to explain the GI tagging process of honey.
He informed that with the support of National Bee Board (NBB), State Government and other organizations and stakeholders, work will be done to make available GI tagging of different types of honey. This will help in the upliftment of people involved in beekeeping activities, as the demand for honey will increase globally after GI tagging.
Dr. Naveen Kumar Patle, Additional Commissioner (Horticulture) and Executive Director (NBB) gave detailed information about the meeting held on December 22, 2022 at Krishi Bhavan on the need for GI (Geographical Indication) tagging for honey.#agrigoi #agriculture #honeybees #honey #NBHM #NBB@nstomar pic.twitter.com/s9XmxJTp0V
— Agriculture INDIA (@AgriGoI) December 22, 2022
How big is the beekeeping sector
Along with promoting natural honey production in the country, the National Beekeeping and Honey Board is constantly trying to support them. For the online sale of honey, the government has also created Madhukranti portal, in which, along with beekeepers, honey business can be done. There are other stakeholders involved as well.
According to statistics, 100 honey clusters have been identified across the country. More than 20 lakh honey-bee colonies have registered themselves with the National Bee Board on the Madhukranti portal alone. NBHN is monitoring the activities related to honey and beekeeping.
So much honey production is happening in the country
According to the latest report, the export of honey from India is increasing rapidly. Along with being an agricultural head, India is being recognized as a major producer of honey. Several lakh tonnes of honey is being produced here every year. Figures for the year 2021-22 show that at present 1,33,000 metric tonnes (MT) of honey is being produced in the country, while 74,413.05 metric tonnes of honey is being exported to other countries.
Disclaimer: Some of the information given in the news is based on media reports. Farmer brothers, before implementing any suggestion, do consult the concerned expert.
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