KUPWARA: Two days district level seminar on ‘Potential and Prospects of Commercial Beekeeping in District Kupwara’ sponsored by National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM), Ministry of Agriculture Government of India commenced today at Town Hall Kupwara.
The seminar, organized by Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Department Kupwara was inaugurated by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Kupwara, Rouf ur Rahman and will conclude on 7th Feb, 2024.
On the occasion, a Souvenir was also released.
More than 200 farmers, most of them beekeepers, and aspiring beekeepers from all over the district attended the programme.
ADC while addressing the gathering highlighted the importance of Apiculture in creating employment in the district and assured full support to the farming community for undertaking mega projects to uplift the economy of the farmers.
Earlier in his inaugural address, Gurdeep Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer Kupwara presented a detailed overview of the scope and potential of beekeeping in Kupwara district. He elaborated on the schemes being offered by the UT government for the beekeepers.
He also highlighted the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) in the Agriculture Sector and detailed the Projects being implemented for the promotion of beekeeping under HADP.
Lead District Manager Kupwara, Mehboob Illahi Khan urged farmers to take up the beekeeping business and highlighted the availability of financing facilities under various subsidized schemes available for farmers.
On the occasion, it was informed that 6 projects amounting to Rs.176 lac under NBHM were approved by the District Level Committee and UT level Committee and are being established in the district which include a Beekeeping Custom Hiring Centre, Beekeeping equipment manufacturing Units, Honey Processing Units.
Additionally, a Project Proposal in the Public sector for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence with a project cost of Rs 98 lac in Apiculture in Handwara has been approved by the UT-level Committee which will enable expanding the Apiculture Sector in the district.
Resource Persons and experts on the occasion urged educated unemployed youth of the district to take up this lucrative business, harness its potential and contribute to the economy of the district.
They further said that the Kupwara district has huge natural resources like forests, crops and herbs which offer ample scope for agriculture, and allied activities, especially beekeeping.
They urged the farmers to take maximum benefit under the programme by getting training and awareness of different Government schemes to establish their income-generating units under the Apiculture sector.
During the seminar, the resource persons provided awareness to the aspiring beekeepers. The participants were also familiarised with getting registered on the Madhukranti Portal and National Beekeeping and Honey Mission.
Lead District Manager J&K Bank, Mehboob Illahi Khan; Scientist from KVK, Firdous Raina; Assistant Soil Conservation Officer, Mukhtar Ahmad Karnai, Syed Mushtaq, District Agriculture Officer (Inputs ), Tariq Ahmad Mir, District Agriculture Officer (Extension), Muneeer Ahmad Naik, SDAO, Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh, SDSM, Malik Ijaz, Apiculture Development Officer, Pirzada Ishfaq and Javid Ahmad Shah Technical Officers, other experts and progressive farmers attended the seminar.
