Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has been continuously working to empower the farmers of North East region to help them earn an additional income through various schemes under the aegis of Ministry of MSME. Shri VK Saxena, Chairman KVIC distributed 1000 bee boxes to 100 farmers in the presence of Shri Tage Taki, Chairman Arunachal Khadi Board and few other dignitaries.

Highlighting the importance of Honey Mission program of KVIC, Shri V.K. Saxena, said, “Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of Flora and Fauna, and has the untapped potential of becoming a truly honey producing state. High altitude honey is rich in antioxidants and hence can be sold at a premium price”.

“Not only honey, but products such as pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom are also marketable and can greatly help the farmers who otherwise migrate to cities for menial labor. As per a recent report, India has a potential of about 200 million bee colonies as against 3.4 million bee colonies today. Increasing the number of bee colonies will not only increase the production of bee-related products but will also boost overall agricultural and horticultural productivity in the region”, Saxena said.

It is quite noticeable that KVIC has distributed around 30,000 bee boxes in the North East alone since 2017, thus generating an additional employment in honey production for around 3000 educated but unemployed farmers. This year KVIC plans to distribute around 2,500 bee boxes in Arunachal Pradesh while it targets to distribute around 10,000 bee boxes in the next year.

For the first time since 1960’s KVIC has also registered 2 new Khadi Institutions-Youth for Social Welfare, Tawang and Rural Development Society, Papum Pare for promotion of Khadi Artisans in the region.

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RCJ/SKP/IA

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