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There is a need to recognise honeybees as inputs to agriculture and consider landless beekeepers as farmers, according to the Beekeeping Development Committee (BDC), which released its report on Wednesday.
It has further suggested that training and development of beekeepers should be provided by state governments. In a bid to identify ways of advancing beekeeping in India, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister set up the BDC under the chairmanship of Bibek Debroy. The report also recommended that the government should institutionalise the National Bee Board and rechristen it as the Honey and Pollinators Board of India under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. The aim of such a board would be to engage in advancing beekeeping through multiple mechanisms such as setting up of new integrated bee development centres and strengthening the existing ones.
The report further said national and regional infrastructure should be developed for storage, processing and marketing of honey and other bee products.
According to data from the National Bee Board and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, there has been an increase in the volume of honey exports from 29.6 to 51.5 thousand tonnes between 2014-15 and 2017-18.
The report also suggested simplified procedures and clear standards for ease of exporting honey and other bee products.
The BDC's report has been submitted to the Prime Minister and has also been placed in the public domain.
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