Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar on November 26, 2020 inaugurated ‘the Honey FPO Programme’ of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited. (NAFED).
- NAFED will address issues by acting as an intermediary and filling up the gaps between the elements of the beekeeping supply chain and also ensure price remuneration to the beekeeping farmers.
- Through these Honey FPOs, NAFED will also work for promotion of beekeeping as an occupation for unemployed women and tribal populations and uplift their livelihood.
- Under the new FPO scheme, so far National Level Project Management Advisory and Fund Sanctioning Committee (N-PMAFSC) had allocated 2200 FPO clusters for 2020-21 to all Implementing agencies.
- NAFED, through its empanelled Cluster Based Business Organisation (CBBO) Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) has initiated the formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers and honey collectors in 5 States of India.
- The areas covered under the programme are Sundarbans in West Bengal, East Champaran in Bihar, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Morena in Madhya Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.
- The First Honey FPO, Chambal FED Shahad Utpadak Sahakari Samiti, in the state of Madhya Pradesh under National Beekeeping & Honey Mission was registered on 11.11.2020 under the Cooperatives Act.
- The Honey FPOs made by ISAP under the aegis of National Bee Board (NBB) and NAFED will help its members in not only upgrading their skills in Scientific Bee Keeping but will also help in making its members set up state of the art infrastructural facilities for processing honey and allied beekeeping products like bee’s wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, etc., quality control laboratories, collection, storage, bottling and marketing centres.
- These FPOs will benefit by the schemes of Mini Mission – 1 and Mini Mission – 2 of National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) of National Bee Board.
