"2-DAY STAKEHOLDER CONFERENCE ON “PROMOTING APICULTURE IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGION”

DAY 1- 19th July 2023	Theme 1 - NMR Testing of Honey and the Creation of a Honey Database for Northeast India'
Time	Topic
10.00 - 10.15 AM	Introduction of all participants
10.15 AM - 11.00 AM	Welcome Address - B. K. Sohliya, Executive Adviser, MFEC Opening remarks - K.N. Kumar, Chairman, MFEC Brief of the NECTAR Honey initiative - Dr. A.K. Sarma, Director General, NECTAR Brief of the NCL initiative - Dr. A. Lele, Director, CSIR-NCL
11.00 AM - 12.00 PM	Technical presentation - NMR spectroscopy – an invaluable tool for honey profiling – CSIR-NCL
12.00PM - 12.30 PM	Technical presentation – “Melissopalynology & its potential for the industry” - Dr. Laxmi Rao
12.30 PM - 1.00 PM	Technical presentation – “Bumblebees / Dorsata – long ignored pollinator friends” - Prof Harish K. Sharmaa
1.00 PM - 2.00 PM	LUNCH
2.00 PM - 2.30PM	Technical Presentation – “Tetragonula and its importance for the country” - Dr. S. Devanesan
2.30 PM - 3.30 PM	View from the States - Dr Avinash Chauhan and others
3.30 PM - 5.00 PM	Discussion on future strategies, broad roadmap and finalization of recommendations to be placed before the Chief Minister - moderator - Shri. K.N. Kumar, Chairman, MFEC

DAY 2 – 20th July 2023	Theme 2 - ‘Expanding the Boundaries of the North-East Honey Industry'

Time	Topic
9.30 AM - 10.15 AM	Registration of beekeepers
10.30 AM - 11.00 AM	A brief of the NECTAR Honey Mission
11.00 AM - 11.30 AM	Apiculture Development in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region and its Potential for Beekeepers and Entrepreneurs of the Northeast - Prof. H.K. Sharma
11.30 AM - 12.00 PM	Enterprise& income generating potential of Hive Products - Dr. K. Laxmi Rao
12.00 PM - 1.00 PM	Arrival of the Chief Minister Welcome – MC 'Presentation on the workshop Findings - a Way forward' – B.K. Sohliya, Executive Adviser, MFEC Speech by Director, CSIR-NCL Speech by Director General, NECTAR Speech by Shri. K.N. Kumar, Chairman, MFEC Signing of MOU of collaboration between MFEC and NECTAR Speech by the Chief Minister Vote of thanks
1.00 PM - 1.30 PM	Chief Minister's visit to Mini Exhibition
1.30 PM - 2.30 PM	LUNCH
2.30 PM - 3.00 PM	Queen bee rearing – Dr. Avinash Chauhan.
3.00 PM - 3.45 PM	Tetragonula in the Northeast - Dr. D. Thomas and experience sharing by stingless beekeepers of Garo Hills
3.45 PM - 4.45 PM	Open House discussion

Conference Background Note

In a major boost for apiculture in the country, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, in August of 2021, resolved to treat Beekeeping / Honeybees as an input for Agriculture and directed all institutions, departments, organizations dealing with crop production to include beekeeping / honeybees as an input in the Package of Practices recommended for a particular crop and region. This decision of the Ministry is a gamechanger both for our agriculture production and for numerous beekeeping households across the nation, potentially strengthening food security and facilitating adaptation to climate change
India produced roughly 130,000 tons of honey annually as of 2020-21, ranking second in global honey production behind China and seventh in terms of exports. The current scenario of 3.4 million bee colonies and 800,000 beekeeping households reveals the untapped potential of approximately 200 million bee colonies that could potentially provide employment for around 21.5 million people, illustrating the immense opportunity in the field of apiculture.
India's Northeast, with its organic farming practices and rich biodiversity, has been identified by APEDA and the Trade Promotion Council of India as a significant hub for honey production. Despite the capacity to support more than 500,000 colonies and having about 40,000 beekeepers producing approximately 500 metric tons of honey, the Northeast honey industry reflects both unrealized potential and emerging opportunities.
However, the Indian honey industry is constrained by several issues, chief of which is the unscrupulous adulteration of honey that has emerged as a significant problem in recent years, compounded by the failure of current biophysical and chemical tests to detect such adulteration. It's a matter of national concern that approximately 30-40 percent of Indian honey samples are not passing the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) test for honey, a standard developed overseas and enforced by honey exporting agencies. This issue has attracted substantial media coverage and has been the subject of discussions among various government bodies in India. The Indian honey industry, which employs over 8 lakh beekeepers and produces around 1.3 lakh metric tons of honey annually, with about 74,000 metric tons being exported, is under threat.
Another significant hurdle is the absence of a universally accepted database of Indian honey detailing floral source and geographical origin for honey profiling purposes, the net effect of which has often resulted in our honey being mislabelled as not of Indian origin when tested by export agencies, creating a significant barrier for the global market entry of our unique, medicinal and artisanal honey leading to lost opportunities for our beekeepers and
honey entrepreneurs.
To address these challenges, it's crucial for India to develop an NMR test and data analysis protocols for honey profiling that are both accessible and affordable for beekeepers and honey producing organizations nationwide. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), armed with the necessary equipment and expertise, has spearheaded the development of an experimental protocol for the NMR test of honey through a pilot project
The pilot project spearheaded by CSIR-NCL seeks to establish a scientific protocol for testing Indian honeys using NMR spectroscopy. This marks the first time such a protocol has been implemented in India. Given the increasing international and export requirement for honey profiling through the NMR test for honey profiling, its adoption is critical for the Indian honey industry.
To progress further, a Stakeholders Meeting was organized by the CSIR-NCL in Pune on March 13, 2023, with resolutions to establish a standardized, affordable NMR test protocol for honey, create an extensive Indian Honey Database through a nationwide pure honey sampling project, and engage other stakeholders, including the government, universities, technology centers, and research institutions in the project.
The next phase of this project focuses on using NMR spectroscopy to analyze and characterize a wide range of pure honey samples, which, along with pollen analysis, will contribute to the construction of the Indian Honey Database. This will include data on flora-wise extraction variations over time, honeybee species (Apis cerana, Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata, Apis laboriosa, Apis florea, Tetragonula spp.), and geographical distribution, collected via specific SOPs. The aim is to build a comprehensive database of Indian honey's diverse characteristics, and by aligning it with existing European and American Honey databases, it would enhance the export potential of Indian honey.
Moreover, this database would be instrumental for enhancing commercial honey quality control by regulatory bodies like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Given the vast floral diversity and natural advantages of the North East, the creation of such a database will be of
considerable value for the region and will foster the export of various unifloral honeys from India, such as Tulsi, Jamun, Karvi, among others and Buckwheat, Cherry, Asian Butterfly, Mandarin, Horse Chestnut, Berberis, Artemesia, Peach, Pear etc from the North East and Himalayan states thereby establishing distinct and unique honey brands from the country while also having positive implications for bee species conservation and beekeeping families
Recognizing the importance of technology, focused development, and policy measures in addressing these issues, while acknowledging that more efforts are needed to elevate beekeeping in the Northeast and tap into its potential, the Meghalaya Farmers' (Empowerment) Commission has taken upon itself the responsibility to facilitate and guide the collaboration of like-minded stakeholders through scientific platforms like the Shillong conference scheduled for 19th and 20th July 2023. The conference aims to establish a consensus and onboard like-minded organizations and state governments for facilitating the collection of pure honey samples for NMR analysis, creation of a Northeast Honey database, and development of a roadmap for the Northeast honey industry, all for the ultimate benefit of beekeepers, farmers, and rural entrepreneurs.