Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, on Tuesday launched ‘Amul Honey’, a product of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) in active collaboration with the National Bee Board (NBB).
Emphasising the importance of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission in increasing the income of small farmers, which is being implemented in the country for doubling the income of farmers/beekeepers with a budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore, Tomar said, “There are 86 per cent small farmers in the country. In order to increase the income of these small farmers, it is necessary to connect them with the other dimensions of agriculture, like beekeeping.”
Union Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, was also present at the virtual event, a release from the Agriculture Ministry said.
Tomar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his desire for a ‘sweet revolution’ on the soil of Gujarat and today, by launching Amul Honey, India has started the journey towards fulfilling his dream.
He expressed that quality of honey is a major concern in the country for which five large scale regional honey testing labs and 100 mini honey testing labs are being set up all over the country.
“It should be our constant effort that the quality of our honey products should meet the global standards as there are lots of export opportunities in this sector,” Tomar added.
Appreciating the efforts made by the GCMMF, Tomar said Amul has not only set up a milestone vis-a-vis ‘White Revolution’, but it also expanded in the milk processing sector, establishing itself as a global brand.