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A beekeeper in Yangching village in Longleng district shows a beehive, on Tuesday.[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Chuchuyimlang, Feb. 5 (EMN): A common facility centre for beekeepers from Chuchuyimlang village, in Mokokchung district, has been inaugurated.
The centre was inaugurated on Tuesday by T Imtiwapang Aier, deputy secretary and team leader of the Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM). The centre is about thirty kilometres away from Mokokchung town.
Chuchuyimlang is considered to be one of the villages in the region to pioneer ‘scientific beekeeping’ in the state. Modern beekeeping practices were imparted to the villagers through the initiation of the Nagaland Gandhi Ashram during the 1960s, it is said.
In his address, the deputy secretary said that the Naga people had been practising beekeeping as a hobby without knowing the prospects of honey and the important role played by the bees in nature.
Aier asserted that the Nagaland government was able to realize it, and eventually tapped the potential in honey production for various purposes only in 2007. This resulted in the formation of the NBHM.
The official lauded the ‘advancement of Gandhi Ashram’ under the stewardship of Natwar Thakkar for realizing the prospects in beekeeping ‘before the state could realize’ and imparting the skills of practicing of scientific beekeeping in Chuchuyimlang. The trend of the scientific method of beekeeping is still practiced till today, he asserted.
The annual production of honey in a ‘khel’ in Chuchuyimlang village is approximately 800 kg. If all the khels there combined their production, the village’s total production of honey will be around 3-4 tonnes, he said.
The team leader also informed that the NBHM’s new objective was now to focus on ‘need base method.’ The mission will provide full support to genuine beekeepers, he assured and urged Chuchuyimlang villagers to increase honey production and to let the village ‘become the hub of learning modern beekeeping.’
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Community members with stakes in beekeeping and honey interact.[/caption]
Aier further urged the village to use the new facility as a training centre to teach people about beekeeping and also to collect honey for processing and marketing.
Earlier, Takonungsang, a pioneer in beekeeping in Chuchuyimlang who was trained at the Gandhi Ashram in the 1960s was also given a certificate of recognition besides cash for his work, from the NBHM.
Aier visited apiaries (bee yards) at Mopungchuket, Merangkong compound and Mongyimti village to obtained first-hand information from beekeepers. He interacted with villagers on Mon. Feb.4 too. He visited apiaries at Yisemyong in Mokokchung district and Yangching village in Longleng district on Feb. 5. He informed about the changing funding pattern: funds are directly transferred to beneficiaries.
