On this occasion of World Bee Day, India Honey Alliance (IHA) announced a series of training programs, starting with 100 beekeepers, to impart technical knowledge required for the efficient management of bee colonies and best practices.
Beekeeping is a widespread and global activity, with millions of beekeepers depending on bees for their livelihoods and well-being. Together with wild pollinators, bees play a major role in maintaining biodiversity, ensuring the survival and reproduction of many plants, supporting forest regeneration, promoting sustainability and adaptation to climate change, and improving the quantity and quality of agricultural production.
This year FAO celebrated World Bee Day through a virtual event under the theme ‘Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems’.
The event featuring bee and pollinator experts and practitioners from across the world opened with a video message by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. The event was aimed to raise awareness of the importance of the wide variety of bees and sustainable beekeeping systems, the threats and challenges they face, and their contribution to livelihoods and food systems.
On this occasion of World Bee Day, India Honey Alliance (IHA) announced a series of training programs, starting with 100 beekeepers, to impart technical knowledge required for the efficient management of bee colonies and best practices. The training programs will go a long way in educating the beekeepers and bridging the skill deficits at the ground level.
During the recent IHA webinar held in collaboration with NBB & NAFED, IHA announced plans to launch training programs for beekeepers across the country to upskill the beekeepers in support of the government initiatives National Honey Mission & Madhu Kranti.
Speaking about the initiative, Deepak Jolly, Secretary General-IHA, said: “Beekeepers are the focal point for all developmental programs envisaged by the India Honey Alliance, and they play an instrumental role in the Indian honey industry. This training program by IHA is a step forward in promoting beekeeping and creating opportunities for micro-enterprise development. We hope that through this ongoing effort, we will be able to make a notable difference in the lives of the beekeepers and the beekeeping industry.”
Beekeeping is a highly fragmented and unorganized sector facing various challenges at the ground level, which include a lack of training and capacity framework, appropriate welfare programs, access to credit facilities, etc. The Government and the entire honey ecosystem must collaborate to take strong measures to create a robust, transparent, and long-term strategy that can be implemented on the ground for beekeepers’ betterment.
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, beekeepers, retailers, exporters, aggregators, and scientists to identify issues and probable long-term solutions, ranging from technology, training, and consumer awareness programs. The beekeepers can register themselves on the India Honey Alliance.
