The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India is celebrating World Bee Day on 20^th May, 2022 at Tent City -II, Ekta Nagar, Narmada, Gujarat. The World Bee Day celebration would be graced by Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The MoA&FW is observing this significant day to promote beekeeping for the benefit of small farmers of the country under the guidance of Hon'ble Prime Minister. The Union Agriculture Minister will also inaugurate Honey Testing Lab & Processing Units to be setup in J&K in Pulwama, Bandipura and Jammu, Tumkur in Karnataka, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Pune in Maharashtra & Uttarakhand in virtual mode from Gujarat.

The UN General Assembly declared 20^th May as World Bee Day in order to create awareness on the pivotal role of bees and other pollinators in keeping people and the planet healthy. Union Agriculture Minister will be Chief Guest at this event. Shri Kailash Choudhary and Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Ministers of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Agriculture Minister, Govt. of Gujarat, Sushri Mateja Vodeb, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, Sushri  Konda Reddy Chavva, FAO representative in India, senior officers of MoA&FW, GOI and Government of Gujarat & all related stakeholders associated with honey production will participate in the programme.

During this celebration, many stalls will be set up by Beekeepers, Processors and different stakeholders of beekeeping sector in the Exhibition to showcase the diverse varieties of honey bee and different products in beekeeping sector. A stall will also be set up by the Indian Bank, the implementing agency for ‘Madhukranti’ Portal for the live Registration of Beekeepers on the Portal during this event. 

Technical sessions on “Production Technology and Research & Development of Scientific Beekeeping- Experience Sharing and Challenges” and “Marketing Challenges and Solutions (Domestic/ Global) & Discussion” will also be held to upgrade the scientific knowledge of beekeeping among farmers/beekeepers.

The programme is aimed at promoting and popularizing beekeeping nation-wide. National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) of the Govt. of India under AatmaNirbhar Bharat is implemented through the National Bee Board for overall promotion of scientific beekeeping & entrepreneurship among small & marginal farmers, infrastructure development for postharvest management and support for research & development and to achieve the goal of “Sweet Revolution”.

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APS