Government schemes are an important part of the UPSC IAS syllabus. In this article, you can read all about the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) for the IAS exam.

National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM):- Download PDF Here

National Beekeeping & Honey Mission

The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission was announced by the Union Government as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package in 2020.

• 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 and promotion of scientific beekeeping in India to achieve the objectives of the Sweet Revolution.
• The scheme is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, GOI.
• 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 and industry, tribal affairs, etc.

Scheme Objectives:

• Foster the holistic growth of the beekeeping industry for income & employment generation for farm and non-farm households.
• Augment horticulture/agriculture production.
• Develop infrastructural facilities including establishing Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre (IBDC)s/CoE, bee disease diagnostic labs, honey testing labs, custom hiring centres, nucleus stock, Api-therapy centres, bee breeders, etc.
• Empower women via beekeeping.
• Develop blockchain/traceability system for traceability of the source of honey & other beehive products; and employing IT tools in beekeeping, including online registration, etc.
• Create and enable honey corridors in potential areas.
• Encourage agri-entrepreneurs & agri-startups in beekeeping/honey production.
• Promote trade agreements between traders/exporters and beekeepers.
• Foster, develop and diffuse the latest and state-of-the-art technologies and skill development in the beekeeping industry for the production of honey & other high-value beehive products.
• Boost beekeepers through an institutional framework for a collective approach like SHGs, FPOs, etc.
• Magnify the economic, social and ecological benefits by diversification through beekeeping by producing a higher quantity & good quality of honey and other high-value beehive products such as beeswax, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, comb honey, bee venom, etc. for domestic and global markets.

National Beekeeping & Honey Mission Sub-Missions

The NBHM has three sub-missions or sub-schemes, namely, Mini Mission – I, II and III.

Mini Mission I

• Here, the focus is on the production and productivity enhancement of different crops through pollination aided by adopting scientific beekeeping.
• It aims to create awareness about scientific beekeeping.
• States will be assisted in the setting up of state bee boards/state beekeeping and honey missions.

Mini Mission II

• Here, the focus is on post-harvest management of beekeeping, beehive products, including collection, processing, storage, marketing, value addition, etc. 

Mini Mission III

• Here, the focus is on the generation of research and technology for different states/regions and agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.

Significance of Beekeeping

Beekeeping has several benefits for the farmers and the economy and the environment in general. The benefits of beekeeping are:

• Through pollination support, it increases the quality and quantity of produce such as fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, pulses, etc.
• It helps in the sustainable development of the environment and agriculture.
• It aids in maintaining biodiversity.
• It is an important input in agriculture and is a low-cost technology.
• It is a source of livelihood and generates employment.
• It helps in improving the incomes of the farmers and bettering their standard of living.
• Bees are very important for the environment since if there are no bees, there is no pollination, which is essential for the production of more plants, and hence animals and consequently life on earth itself.