Wednesday, Apr 06, 2022 07:45 [IST]
Last Update: Wednesday, Apr 06, 2022 02:10 [IST]
GANGTOK,: A bee farm initiated by Himali Co-operative Society was inaugurated by Agriculture minister Lok Nath Sharma at Rabitar-Manghim ward of Sadam-Suntaley GPU in Melli.
The Himali Co-operative has set up 30 bee barrels at present for the farming.
Addressing the gathering, minister Sharma congratulated the members of the co-operative society for initiating bee farming in the State. He also declared Sadam Suntaley GPU as a cluster under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichaii Yojana for deep irrigation.
Assuring full support on behalf of the State government and the department, Sharma informed the gathering about the honey mission scheme of the Government of India. Hoping that the locals would take up bee farming seriously and as a way of livelihood, the minister announced to set up processing unit plants in the area in future.
The minister also distributed agricultural products and equipment to the beneficiaries and felicitated two “best farmers”, Gopal Chettri and Padam Bahadur Limboo.
Area MLA Farwanti Tamang expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister P.S. Golay for the recent budget session which she said was “people-centric”.
Tamang also congratulated Himali Co-operative and extended best wishes for the bee farming, and urged the nearby villages to adopt bee farming in their areas as well.
Dr. Christopher Karki, a PhD scholar, shared his experiences in bee farming across 69 countries till date.
“As per my research, Sikkim imports honey worth Rs. 2.5 crore every month, hence if we train our people then we can not only save the said amount but also the export honey in future. Though bee farming isn’t easy, with proper training and environment we can definitely excel in this sector”, said Karki.
