KVIC chairman launches three programmes for apiculture, farms

Guwahati: Manoj Kumar, Chairman, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), has recently launched three distribution programmes in Assam. Bee-boxes, pickle making machines and automatic agarbatti machines were distributed to the beneficiaries in different programmes.

In Kumarikata village of Tamulpur, he distributed 500 bee-boxes to 50 beekeepers, handed over 40 pickle-making machines and 20 automatic agarbatti machines to the beneficiaries at KVIC Complex in Guwahati. A pilot project related to the footwear industry was also inaugurated in Six-Mile Guwahati under the Gramodyog Vikas Yojana.

This call for benefiting the farmer community in Bodoland through Honey mission was made during last year in the same month by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah during his public address at Tamulpur.

Following this, the KVIC is implementing schemes in the villages and towns of the country. He further said that on the call of Sweet Revolution by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission is running the Honey Mission scheme at the national level from the year 2017.

Under this scheme, 8,290 bee-boxes and bee colonies have been distributed after training to 829 beekeepers in the state. Kumar encouraged the beekeepers to produce world-class honey so that the 'local honey' of Assam gets 'global' recognition. He further said in addition to increasing the production of agriculture, beekeeping is also increasing the income of the farmers.

Apart from this, elephants are being prevented from entering human habitats and farmers' fields through bee boxes in the villages adjacent to the forest area, which has seen a reduction in the incidence of human attacks and damage to farmers' crops by elephants.

The Chairman also informed that one such effort under Project RE-HAB is being conducted by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission in the villages of Mornoi, Dahikata, Rajapara and Kadamtala in Goalpara district of Assam.

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