The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Kupwara today organized a Seminar on the title ‘Transformation of Bee Keeping’, at Town Hall, here.
Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Kupwara, Altaf Ahmad Khan was the chief guest on the occasion while Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal was the guest of honour.
Speaking on the occasion, the ADDC said that district Kupwara has been endowed with huge natural resources like forests which offer an ample scope for agriculture, and allied activities, especially Beekeeping. He asked the farmers to take maximum benefit under the program by getting training and awareness of different Government schemes to establish their income-generating units under the Apiculture sector.
The director of Agriculture welcomed the farmer participants for taking part in the Seminar despite the ongoing cropping season. He asked the Officers and Resource Persons to guide the farmers in the local language so that they could easily understand the procedure and technicalities involved in the process of beekeeping.
He said that there are numerous success stories on the ground regarding Apiculture development in the valley that need to be shared with the aspiring beekeepers which will help them in developing their bee colonies on commercial lines.
On the occasion, Chief Agriculture Officer Kupwara informed that the Seminar which will last for 2 days is aimed at developing the Apiculture Sector in the district on a commercial scale by involving educated unemployed youth to generate their livelihood. He also highlighted the progress and achievements of the department under the Apiculture Sector in the district.
KVK Head Kupwara also spoke and highlighted the importance of Beekeeping for income generation and other health benefits. He assured the farmers of every possible support from the KVK in establishing their Bee colonies smoothly.
On the occasion, a Souvenir about the Transformation of Beekeeping in District Kupwara was also released.
During the Seminar, the Resource Persons provided awareness to the beekeepers regarding the potential of beekeeping in the Kupwara district, besides, highlighting different Government schemes for handholding of the aspiring beekeepers.
The participants were also familiarized with getting registered on the Madhukranti Portal and National Beekeeping and Honey Mission.
Meanwhile, the participants expressed gratitude towards the Agriculture Department Kupwara for holding the awareness program for them.
Chief Agriculture Officer Kupwara, Gurdeep Singh; District Agriculture Officer, Mukhtar Ahmad Karnai; Head KVK Kupwara, Dr. Kaiser Mohiddin; Resource Persons, besides, Field Functionaries and a large number of beekeepers attended the Seminar.