PASIGHAT, May 14: Twenty-five progressive farmers and beekeepers from Sille village in East Siang district are attending a weeklong training programme on ‘scientific beekeeping for farmers/beekeepers of East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh’ which began at the College of Horticulture & Forestry (CHF) here on Monday.
On the first day, CHF Dean Dr BN Hazarika highlighted the importance of beekeeping in the state “for fulfilling the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding doubling of farmers’ income by 2022.”
He briefed the trainees on the benefits of adopting scientific beekeeping to increase crop production and productivity, and said the district’s Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and the CHF should “act as a lighthouse of scientific technologies for the farmers of the region.”
CHF Plant Protection Department Head Dr DB Ahuja spoke on the current scenario of beekeeping in the Northeast region, and encouraged the farmers to adopt scientific beekeeping, grow more flowers, and integrate beekeeping with agricultural and horticultural crops to generate sustainable income.
KVK Head Dr Mahesh Pathak apprised the participants of the different activities planned to encourage the farmers in the district to adopt scientific beekeeping.
Toge Riba from the KVK also emphasized on integration of scientific beekeeping with crop production to improve the socioeconomic condition of the farmers.
The trainees also visited the demonstration units of the KVK to get practical experience on integration of beekeeping with horticultural orchards.
The training programme is sponsored by the National Bee Board, and funded under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture.
