JAMMU : In line with the National Level celebration of World Bee Day, 2022 by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare (GOI) at Tent City -II, Ekta Nagar, Narmada, Gujarat, a programme was organized by Apiculture Section of Directorate of Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare, Jammu at Krishi Bhawan, here under the chairmanship of Director AP & FW, Jammu, K. K. Sharma.

The day is being celebrated with the aim to create awareness about the significance of bees and beekeeping. The theme of this year’s World Bee Day is “Bee engaged: Build Back Better for Bees, focusing on actions for restoring, supporting and enhancing the role of these pollinators”.

Those present on the occasion included Joint Director (Inputs), A.S. Reen; Joint Director (Extension), Subash Chander Sharma; Joint Director (Apiculture & Mushroom Development), R. K. Hitaishi; Joint Director (Marketing), Mahesh Verma; Joint Director (Farms), Vijay Upadhya; Deputy Director Central, Viveek Kohli; CAO Jammu, Arvind Baru; Agriculture Chemist, Aman Jyoti Sharma and other officers/officials of Agriculture Department, besides good number of Bee-Keepers of Jammu Division.

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Narendra Singh Tomar, on the occasion also e-inaugurated the Honey Testing Lab to be set up in J&K in Pulwama and Bandipura and Jammu.

Director Agriculture Jammu, in his keynote address, underlined the contribution of Bees in production of food crops by way of facilitating the process of pollination. He stressed on the need of organizing the training programmes on Scientific Beekeeping. Attention was also drawn on making Beekeeping as an integral part of farming to increase the farm income. It was informed that efforts are being made by the department to popularize Bee farming through branding, marketing and formation of FPOs in Jammu Division.

The Director further advised the farmers to avoid the spray of plant protection chemicals in Bee active areas and promote the growing of such crops/plants that attract the honey bees. He also encouraged the rural youths to come forward and become Beekeeping Entrepreneurs by engaging in the activities like production of Honey, Bee-pollen, Bee-Wax, Bee-Venom besides Bee breeding. It was also mentioned that the department was working towards facilitating hassle free movement/ migration of bee colonies for chasing bee flora within & outside UT.

Earlier, Joint Director (Apiculture & Mushroom Development) in his welcome address deliberated on the importance of Bees for a better and sustainable environment and enhancing crop production.

Later the Bee farmers also visited the Honey Processing Plant and Bee-garden developed at Krishi Bhawan where they were shown a variety of Bee flora grown there.

Assistant Entomologist, Bhupinder Gupta presented the vote of thanks.