All the buzz around sweet revolution

Pune: Move over White Revolution and Green Revolution. The "buzz" is around the emerging "sweet revolution" in the country. In keeping with PM Narendra Modi's directions to boost the cooperative movement in India by exploring new avenues like beekeeping, around 1,500 bee boxes have arrived in Pune to kick off the pilot project. Sources at the Central Honey Bee Research and Training Institute (CBRTI) said around 9,500 bee boxes have arrived across Maharashtra as part of the Honey Mission.

In September last year, PM Modi had urged cooperatives to help farmers double their income by 2022 by venturing into unconventional areas such as beekeeping and seaweed farming. Speaking to mid-day, CBRTI assistant development officer Hemraj Muvel said, "The project will immensely help in increasing income of farmers. We will begin the project by training around 150 farmers about beekeeping. They will be given bee boxes and adequate protection gear, including caps, gloves and nets. All farmers need to do is submit their bank and necessary identity details and a security deposit of R1,500. Following training, the farmer is expected to give us a rough estimate about the amount of nectar he can procure. If he fails to procure the specified amount, then the bee boxes would be handed over to another farmer."

Apparently, these bee boxes and the honey collection kit have been designed to ensure the quality of the honey procured does not get hampered following farming measures.

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