Claim and pain of a young beekeeper, if I get loan from NABARD scheme, I can give employment to many unemployed
Is the benefit of Mithi Kranti Mission reaching the farmers or beekeepers?
Gajendra Singh’s family is associated with beekeeping business for the last 21 years, but he is facing many problems in carrying forward the business.
The government is running many missions and schemes to promote the production of honey in the country. Work is being done on the mission of ‘Sweet Revolution’ under self-reliant India. National Mission for Beekeeping and Honey has been launched to promote beekeeping. A target has been set to connect 86% of smallholder farmers with other areas of agriculture like beekeeping. The government is also working on this goal, but is full benefit reaching farmers and beekeeping people living in remote or rural areas?
If help is available, Beekeeper will get a boost
One such beekeeper farmer spoke to us. The family of Gajendra Singh, a resident of Ghasa Ka Purva village of Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh, is associated with beekeeping for last 21 years. Now he is handling the reins of this business. In a conversation with Kisan of India, Gajendra Singh said that he wants to take the beekeeping business to great heights. If there is help from the government and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), then they can take this business to a big level. Right now they have to face problems.
Image Credit: MANAGE
Unable to get loan approval
Gajendra Singh says that he has applied for loan in local banks many times to increase his beekeeping business, but the loan is not approved. For last one year, he has been making rounds of many banks seeking loans. He says that he goes to the bank with all the necessary documents, but every time he has to return empty handed.
Hope for help from NABARD scheme, was given assurance
Gajendra Singh told that a woman officer from NABARD, Delhi had come to his farm. She appreciated the Bee Unit. He was also encouraged. Along with this, the assurance of getting full help from NABARD was also given. It’s been almost a year since then. Still they are waiting for help.
Market is not easily available, Honey has to be sold at a low price
They are also facing the problem of getting the market. The price of honey in the market ranges from Rs.800 to Rs.900 per kg. Gajendra Singh says that he has to sell honey even at the rate of Rs 200 per kg. The profit is made, but the right price is not available in the market. In today’s date, he gets a profit of seven to eight lakhs. He says that if he gets the necessary help, then he wants to do this business on a large scale, and connect more and more youth of his area to it. Gajendra Singh says that beekeeping is such a business, which can become a source of good income and reduce unemployment rate.
Facing the problem of more production and less demand
Gajendra Singh sells raw honey in processing units. Gajendra Singh says that the demand for processing units is 50 kg, while their production remains around 50 quintals. In such a situation, their honey cannot be sold. They also sell raw honey to the villagers.
60 to 65 kg of honey comes out of one box
At present Gajendra Singh has around 250 boxes with 9 to 10 frames. He has planted these boxes in his mustard field. 60 to 65 kg of honey comes out from one box. Once the setup is done, it takes about a year for the honey to be ready. Gajendra also sells boxes with beeswax.
Pay attention for the maintenance of bees
The maintenance of bees also has to be taken care of. they should not get any disease. It is important to keep inspecting the boxes every two to four days so that the treatment is given at the right time.
Given training to more than a thousand farmers
Gajendra Singh has done his graduation in Agriculture Science. After completing his degree, he took training under the Agri Clinic and Agri Business Center (AC&ABC) scheme from the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Auraiya to learn the nuances of beekeeping. Today Gajendra Singh also gives training to the people in his area. So far, training has been given to more than thousand farmers, tell them about the nuances of beekeeping. He has a team of 60 people. Gajendra Singh advises people interested in the field of beekeeping, saying that before starting it, one should have complete information, because it is a technical business. It requires patience and hard work.
Production of 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of honey every year
India is the eighth largest country in the world in terms of honey production. 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of honey is produced every year. It accounts for more than 50 percent of its exports. About 60 thousand million tonnes of honey was exported in 2020-2021. The major countries in this are the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Canada.
Contact us: If farmers want to share information or experiences related to farming with us, then they can do this by calling us on the phone number 9599273766 or by writing an email to kisanofindia.mail@gmail.com or by sending your recording. Through Kisan of India, we will convey your message to the people, because we believe that if the farmers are advanced then the country is happy.