A farmer will get 50 honey boxes grant: Beekeepers will get 75 to 90 percent grant, target of giving 1800 honey boxes

A provision of 75 to 90 percent subsidy has been made to farmers to increase honey production. A box will be given on grant for beekeeping. For this, online application has been started on the portal of Horticulture Department. 75 percent subsidy will be given to the general category beekeepers and 90 percent to SC-ST. In the financial year 2022-23, the target is to provide 1800 honey boxes to the farmers for beekeeping in the district. Under this, 500 boxes are to be given under the National Horticulture Mission and 1300 under the Chief Minister’s Horticulture Mission. In this 1000 boxes are to be given to farmers belonging to Jeevika group, 300 boxes to SCST farmers and 500 boxes to general category farmers.

Assistant Director Horticulture informed that the process of application for bee keeping is going on in the district. More than two times the farmers have applied so far in the district. He said that the scheme operates on a first come and first served basis. In this, preference is given to farmers who have already taken training in beekeeping. To take advantage of the scheme, farmers can apply on the departmental portal.

QR code on box to prevent error

Changes were made in the scheme this year that online applications were taken from farmers. Provision is being made to put QR code on the box to prevent the mess of the box. With the use of QR code, the same box will not be allotted to two farmers wrongly. Assistant Director Horticulture informed that farmers get grants through Horticulture Directorate. The cost of each honey box and honey hive is 4 thousand. In this, ordinary farmers get 3 thousand subsidy. Whereas SC-ST farmers get 3600 per box grant. A farmer can take a grant for a maximum of 50 honey boxes or a minimum of 10 boxes.

These documents are required for application

Applicants must be registered with the DBT Portal of Agriculture Department. Their Aadhar card, training certificate, bank account details and photo are required during the application. Farmers can apply online for the benefits of the scheme. The box will be given to the farmers from the National and Chief Minister Horticulture Mission. Assistant Director Horticulture Vipin Poddar said that beekeeping is a great option for small, marginal and landless farmers. By getting training and starting production, you will earn more in less cost. To start beekeeping, less capital and less land is required. Deputy Director Horticulture informed that beekeeping is a good source of income for rural landless unemployed farmers. Along with getting honey and wax, other substances like gum, propolis, royal jelly, sting are also obtained.