In a move aimed to fulfil the Prime Minister’s dream of becoming self-reliant in different sectors, NCDC is organizing a webinar on “Sweet Revolution and Atmanirbhar Bharat” to celebrate World Bee Day on 21st May.
NCDC has enlisted support of those states which are involved in bee-keeping. It has also invited many experts of the field to make it a fruitful exercise, said NCDC MD Sundeep Nayak who sounded excited on phone with the idea of webinar on bee-keeping.
Interestingly, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has also agreed to participate in the webinar. Besides Tomar, Uttarakhand Cooperative Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat and Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal would also be present on the occasion.
NCDC is organizing this Webinar in partnership with the National Bee Board, Government of Uttarakhand, Govt. of West Bengal and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agri Science and Technology, Kashmir.
The Webinar which would start at 11: 30 AM will have over 1.30 sessions, in which different speakers would speak on the subject of bee-keeping. The speakers include Dr. B N S Murthy, Horticulture Commissioner, GOI, Sahakar Bharati National President Ramesh Vaidya, Dr M V Rao, ACS, government of West Bengal, HE Tomlo Schichri, Representative UNFAO.
There would also be a session of Question and Answers. On the occasion, presentations would be made by NBB experts on National Beekeeping and Honey Mission.
Experts say, ”we not only get honey from honey bees but there are so many species of honey bees in India which are very helpful in giving pollination support for increasing yield of agriculture and horticulture corps.”
The programme will be anchored by Col Bikramjit Singh, Chief Director, LINAC, NCDC and vote of thanks would be given by R Vanitha, Chief Director, NCDC.
It bears recall that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been stressing on secondary income for farmers through other means such as horticulture, fisheries, bee-keeping etc. Doubling farmers’ income becomes easy through these means, said Modi.
Additionally, as the world is going through the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of life and the existence of species has become the focal point for everyone. In order to create more awareness about how bees contribute to the growth of wildflower plants and crops, this day is celebrated. It also marks the birth anniversary of Anton Janson, the founder of beekeeping.
It bears recall that the World Bee Day was started by the United Nations General Assembly so that bees’ conservation is highlighted for sustainable development. On May 20, World Bee Day 2020 will be observed across the globe.