More than 100 beekeepers from Saharanpur and nearby districts participated in the awareness program and gathered valuable insights and technical knowledge
The National Institute of Food Technology & Entrepreneurship Management (NIFTEM) and India Honey Alliance (IHA) collaborated to organise a training program for beekeepers in Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) on March 27th and 28th, 2024.
More than 100 beekeepers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) from Saharanpur (UP) and surrounding areas took part in the awareness program, gaining vital insights, technical knowledge, and best practices for the efficient management of bee colonies. Experts such as Dr Komal Chauhan, Dean Research and Outreach, NIFTEM, Dr Satish Kushwaha, Senior Analyst, CFRA, NIFTEM, Dr I.K. Kushwaha, KVK, Saharanpur, and Dr Lakshmi Rao, NRLM and ex-Addl. Director CBRTI conducted sessions and provided training. Dignitaries like Minhaj Alam, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Dr. H.S. Oberoi, Director NIFTEM-K, and Dr. R.S. Rajpoot, Deputy Director (PDF), SFAC, briefed the beekeeping community and participated virtually.
The opening remarks were given by Namrata Khanna, Director, IHA. The various sessions during the two-day event focused on Beekeeping: How to keep bees and process them, Regulatory requirements for setting up a honey business, Technical Beekeeping – Hygienic Extraction & Equipment Maintenance and maintaining Bee Colonies.
Minhaj Alam, Additional Secretary, MoFPI, opined, “There are multiple schemes of MoFPI through which the beekeeping community can benefit. At MoFPI, we sponsor various promotional activities to support and educate the small-scale industries. The PMKSY and PMFME schemes are specially intended for medium, small and micro-scale industries. Further, to boost the income of farmers and provide them with a sustainable livelihood, the training program by NIFTEM & IHA is a great initiative and value addition that will address many ground-level issues faced by beekeepers. More such events will go a long way to educate beekeepers.”
Dr H.S. Oberoi, Director, NIFTEM, stated, “At NIFTEM, we want to build the capacity of beekeepers and provide them with the necessary skills and resources to upgrade them. Organisations like CBRTI, Pune and NIFTEM are working towards this direction. To tackle the issue of adulteration, we need pure samples of honey from sources that have scientific beekeeping practices so that FSSAI can revise the standards to be more realistic based on scientific evidence specific to Indian honey. I also request that IHA and the beekeepers make a geographical database for honey traceability. It will benefit the honest honey producers and beekeepers.”
Dr Komal Chauhan, Dean Research and Outreach, NIFTEM, mentioned, “As a part of our agreement with IHA, one of the primary objectives is to create awareness activities which will promote knowledge and information dissemination & training of stakeholders. This training program at Saharanpur is just the beginning and will surely go a long way in educating the beekeepers and bridging the skill deficits at the ground level. We look forward to organizing more such events at many other cities across the country.”
Speaking about the initiative, Namrata Khanna, Director, IHA, said, “The top focus is to create consumer awareness, and thereby increase honey consumption. It will directly benefit the beekeepers if they follow scientific beekeeping methods to extract honey and other hive products. The two-day training program by IHA is a step forward in promoting beekeeping and creating opportunities for micro-enterprise development. We want to work closely with the Government & other organisations to create a better eco-system for honey.”
Along with beekeepers, many FPOs like Aryahi Fed Farmers Producer Company Ltd and Divine International Foundation that work for beekeepers, including women, attended the training program and gained valuable insights.
About NIFTEM
NIFTEM is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, which is set up to serve entrepreneurs, the food processing industry, exporters, policymakers, the federal government and other institutions in the food processing sector. It is a world-class institute of global standards in Food Science and Technology that nurtures and promotes synergy between teaching, research and awareness creation in many disciplines of food science & technology and nutrition, including food safety and applied nutrition food testing methodology.
About India Honey Alliance
India Honey Alliance is the single representative industry body formed for the development & growth of the Indian honey industry. It is an inclusive body with membership from the entire honey value chain, bee-keepers, retailers, exporters, aggregators and scientists, to identify issues and their probable long-term solutions, ranging from technology, training, and consumer awareness programs.
