Three-day Indo-Israel training on beekeeping management in Kurukshetra

A three-day Indo-Israel Training on Beekeeping Management commenced at the Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre (IBDC), Ramnagar, in Kurukshetra on Tuesday.

About 47 participants from 16 states are participating in the seminar.

Dr Uri Rubinstein, agriculture attache, MASHAV, Israel, Dr Daniel Hadad, vegetable expert Israel, Deputy Director Horticulture (IBDC), Dr Satyender Kumar, District Horticulture Officer (DHO) Dr Satyanarayan and several officials were present during the opening ceremony.

Uri Rubinstein said the country's only integrated beekeeping development center in Ramnagar, Kurukshetra is proving to be a boon for farmers. Along with training the farmers through the beekeeping development centre, the department is also trying to provide all resources for beekeeping. More and more farmers should join the beekeeping development centre so that farmers can increase their income.

“The prime objective of the seminar is to give a boost to the beekeeping activities in India. Bees are very important aliment in agriculture sector and along with producing honey, bees play an important role in production of other crops too. The awareness regarding beekeeping in India is on the rise. Trainings are being organised at the centre here and we are encouraging participants across the country to participate in the seminars for the welfare and benefits of the farmers. We are looking forward to maintaining the momentum ahead”, he added.

Horticulture expert Daniel Hadad spoke about the role of pollination in protected cultivation and also gave information about the importance of beekeeping.

He said bees had an important role in human life and he believed that if there were no bees, life could end soon. He said the Indo-Israel project was playing an important role in promoting beekeeping and the farmers were benefitting due to the information and training being given at the centre.

The horticulture experts from different states visited the centre and the facilities being offered to the farmers. They visited the cold storage where honey was kept by the beekeepers at the centre, beekeeping processing unit, wax sheet unit, box unit and bee colony.

The Deputy Director, Horticulture, (IBDC), Dr Satyender Kumar, apprised the visitors about the activities and the units at the centre.

The Director of Mizoram Horticulture Department, Joint Director of Gujarat Horticulture Department, Project Officers as well as experts from Horticulture Department from various states were present.

The IBDC was established under a bilateral agreement between India and Israel in 2017 at a cost of Rs 10.50 crore. There is a honey testing lab, bee disease diagnostic lab, bee hives manufacturing unit, bee apiary, value addition lab and a honey processing and bottling unit at the centre.