Beekeeping
Beekeeping will get a boost in Jammu and Kashmir as the government has recently approved investment of Rs 47 crores in next three years in this sector.
Government is trying to enhance honey production three fold and also to enhance bee population.
The decline in pollinating bees poses a danger to the natural environment and agricultural sustainability, and the biodiversity of the Himalayan region can be restored through bee activity.
The “Promotion of beekeeping in UT of J&K” project is one of 29 projects approved by the J&K administration and recommended by the UT Level Apex Committee for the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors
For this purpose, a committee has been constituted under Former DG ICAR, which comprises other experts in agriculture, planning, statistics and the administration.
The major constraints faced by the beekeeping industry in J&K included degradation and deforestation, the use of pesticides, lack of infrastructure, lack of standard migration practices, traceability, and changes in the blooming patterns of crucial forage plants. The project aims at addressing these issues by increasing the number of colonies through cluster formation, encouraging bee-preneurship and bee-startups, besides developing infrastructure for post-harvest management, value addition, and marketing.
