Honey Mission programme

#Yojana

 The Honey Mission programme was launched by Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), under the Ministry of MSME, during 2017-18.

It is being implemented to promote Bee Keeping activities and provide self-sustaining employment opportunities among farmers, Adivasies and unemployed youth in rural India, especially in economically backward and remote areas.

Under 'A Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries' (SFURTI), traditional beekeepers are provided with sustainable employment by organizing them into clusters, and supporting them with new machineries and training.

●Honey Mission programme:

✅The Honey Mission was launched by KVIC in 2017 which aimed at creating employment for the Adivasis, farmers, unemployed youth, & women by roping them in beekeeping while also increasing India's honey production.

✅KVIC acts liaison as an income-generating tool for the beekeepers and beekeeping.

✅KVIC ensures better food and medicine with the value of honey production and other hive products and supports cross-pollination that pays the way for agriculture crops.

✅KVIC would provide loans for setting up processing units, packaging units and labelling units for honey.

✅Under the programme, beneficiaries are provided with Bee Boxes, live bee colonies, tool kits and training.

✅Till date, a total number of 15445 beneficiaries have been assisted under the programme.

✅it is proposed to form 08 Self Help Groups benefitting 80 beekeepers in the Bundelkhand Region in the financial year 2021 -22.

✅The significance of the mission lies in the fact that Production of healthy honey and wax, and bee-keeping would open many job opportunities for unemployed youths and also for aspiring young entrepreneurs.

✅KVIC has assigned the work of evaluation / assessment study of Honey Mission to CRISIL.

●key suggestions by CRISIL:

✅ensuring need based training & up-skilling

✅training on financial services, credit facilities,

✅strengthening of handholding support on seasonal management and migration,

✅need on awareness on quality standards,

✅formalising market linkages and branding

✅convergence with the existing schemes for FPO building & cluster-based approach.

●Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries' (SFURTI):

✅Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Govt. of India has launched this scheme in the year 2005 with the view to promote Cluster development.

✅Under the Scheme, the MSME Ministry supports various interventions including the setting up of infrastructure through Common Facility Centers (CFCs), procurement of new machinery, design intervention, improved packaging and marketing etc.

✅29 Honey clusters have been approved under the scheme which will benefit 13388 beekeepers with Government of India financial assistance of Rs.68.65 crore.

✅Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is the Nodal Agency for the promotion of Cluster development for Khadi.

●SFURTI clusters :

✅Regular Cluster (500 artisans) with Government assistance of up to Rs.2.5 crore and

✅Major Cluster (more than 500 artisans) with Government assistance up to Rs.5 crore

●National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM):

✅it was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package in 2020.

✅scientific beekeeping is promoted for holistic growth of the sector, leading to income and employment generation, livelihood support to farm & non-farm households.

✅The scheme is implemented by the National Bee Board (NBB) and is approved for three years from 2020 to 2023.

✅The scheme is aimed at the overall development & promotion of scientific beekeeping in India to achieve the objectives of the Sweet Revolution.

✅It is a central sector scheme (100% central government funding).

✅The scheme will work in tandem with the various other schemes related to beekeeping such as KVIC's Honey Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and the ministries of rural development, MSME, AYUSH, commerce & industry, tribal affairs, etc.