MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, held a seminar last week at the Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence for Beekeeping in Kurukshetra (Haryana).
Lectures and discussions were held on the importance of maintaining healthy bee colonies and empowering beekeeping farmers. Over 110 beekeepers took part in the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon said, “Beekeeping is a development tool to ensure food security and sustainable development. It not only empowers farmers, but also boosts local and national economies. We are very proud to have cooperation with Haryana on beekeeping which can provide support for farmers across India in this integral field.”
The United Nations General Assembly declared 20 May as World Bee Day, recognising the crucial role bees play in increasing crop yields. This year, MASHAV chose to participate in marking the World Bee Day in order to raise awareness of the need for bee populations’ conservation and its importance for the entire ecosystem.
The Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre in Haryana, established under the Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP), is the first of its kind in India. It implements and demonstrates innovative technology and knowhow, thus benefiting the local farmers. MASHAV is providing the knowledge and agro-technical support.
The centre conducts training programmes for local farmers and generates beekeeping protocols for key practices. It was inaugurated on 10 November 2017. At that time, Ambassador Daniel Carmon had said, “Centers of Excellence are an integral part of India and Israel’s growing partnership. Haryana is one of the first to implement this tool for its farmers and has more IIAP centres than any other state. I hope to see more states open IIAP centres across India, and that the private sector too joins us in the endeavour to bring advanced agro-technology to Indian farmers.”