Nagaland farmers learn scientific beekeeping practices

March 2, 2025 38 Views No Comment

Dimapur, march 2 (MExN): The All India Coordinated Research Project, Department of Entomology, School of Agricultural Sciences conducted series of trainings in different villages under different districts of Nagaland on Scientific beekeeping with stinging and stingless bees for better income generation and pollination.

The trainings were held under the theme ‘bee ready for better tomorrow’ at Medziphema village and Pherima village of Chümoukedima district, Pungalwa village and Beisumpuikam village under Peren district and Chesezu Rungzu of Phek district from February 17 to 26.

Altogether, 260 farmers were trained during the trainings, stated a press release received here. The Meliponiaries and Apiaries of the farmers in the villages were also visited to inculcate the scientific adoption of different beekeeping practices among the farmers through demonstrations of rearing technologies.

Different topics were discussed including the selection of sites for setting up an Apiary or Meliponiary unit, selection of good quality nucleus stock, plantation of promising bee flora, faunal diversity of bees- global, national and regional, Identification of different bee species, management of Apiaries and Meliponiaries, Migration of bees, Honey and other bee products and their diversification, Quality production and marketing of bee products and role of pollination in crop management and ecosystem sustenance.

The inaugural sessions were followed by technical sessions with resource persons including Dr Avinash Chauhan, Scientist & PI, AICRP HB&P, Department of Entomology, SAS, Nagaland University, Dr Otto S Awomi, Lecturer LBC and Dr Shashidhar Viraktamath, Scientist Emeritus, U.A.S., Bangalore.

The resource persons urged the farmers to adopt scientific beekeeping to enhance their incomes which is restricted with traditional way of rearing honeybees. They also highlighted the role of bees in the conservation of flora and fauna and in the maintenance of diversity.

Altogether 20 lectures were given during these training programmes along with hands on trainings on practical aspects of beekeeping. The developed technologies in Apiculture were demonstrated by the resource persons and the technical staffs of AICRP HB &P where the transfer and multiplication of stinging and stingless bees, mass multiplication of stingless bees, scientific hives, management of swarming and pests etc were undertaken and explained to the participants.

The training programmes concluded with the input distribution where scientific bee boxes were distributed to the participants, followed by feedbacks from the trainees.