Two days of review of activities were conducted at the AICRP Honey Bees Centres at Nagaland, Assam and Manipur. The review Zone concluded at SAS Nagaland University on November 22.
Kohima, November 23 (MExN): Quinquennial review of All India Coordinated Research Project on Honey Bees & Pollinators for the centres of North East Zone concluded at School of Agricultural Sciences: Nagaland University on November 22 after two days of review of activities conducted at the AICRP Honey Bees Centres at Nagaland, Assam and Manipur.
The QRT comprised of central team chaired by Dr HC Sharma, Former Vice Chancellor Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, HP, Dr Sachin S Suroshe, Project Coordinator AICRP HB&P and Member Secretary, QRT, Dr RK Thakur former Project Coordinator, AICRP HB&P, Dr K Lakshmi Rao, Ex-Joint Director CBRTI, Pune, Dr DP Abrol, Former Dean SKUAST Jammu, J&K, Dr MR Srinivasan Professor TNAU & former member EAC PMO, New Delhi.
The team arrived here on November 19 to conduct the review of activities of AICRP HB&P in the North East Zone.
The two days programme started with the formal welcome of QRT on November 20. The Chairman of QRT, Dr HC Sharma in his opening remarks deliberated on the purpose of their visit. The other members of the QRT also shared their remarks before the start of the technical session.
Presentations were made by different centres on the progress made by them in the last five years and the work of plan for the next five years. Dr Mukul Kumar Deka, PI, AICRP HB&P, Assam centre, Dr Nilima Karam, PI, AICRP Manipur Centre and Dr Avinash Chauhan, PI, AICRP HB&P, Nagaland Centre presented their reports for the period 2018-2023.
The technical session was followed by the visit of the QRT along with the participating centres to the Apiary and Meliponiary of Nagaland Centre located at SAS, NU where the team lauded the efforts of the centre in development of scientific stingless bee hives and maintaining the diversity of stinging and stingless bees. During their visit, the QRT team interacted with the students and looked upon the different value-added products like bee wax candles, honey soaps, honey gooseberry candies and honey mead.
On November 21, the QRT visited villages under Peren and Chümoukedima districts to see the implementation of technologies developed at the Nagaland Centre where they interacted with the farmers and beekeepers and discussed the needs and problems faced by the Apiculturists and Meliponiculturists of this region.
The team also visited their bee farms and homestead Apiaries and interacted with the owners. The team expressed their happiness to see the implementation of scientific stingless beekeeping at field level and to see the integrated farming system in the region.
In the concluding remarks, the Chairman and members of the QRT urged the farmers and beekeepers to start hive manufacturing units at village levels and value addition of their products for the stable and increased income.
