The Incubation Centre at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Tura received its first consignment of raw, organic wild honey as part of its ‘Mithi Kranti’ (Sweet Revolution) initiative on July 7.
The Sweet Revolution was launched in August 2022 at Gambegre, West Garo Hills.
Vice-Chancellor Prof PS Shukla stated that the potential of ‘green honey’ should be tapped in order to reduce poverty and create livelihoods.
The Tura campus’s incubation centre was tasked with this project to intensify honey production, motivate traditional beekeepers to adopt modern and scientific beekeeping practices and also to encourage unemployed youths to take up beekeeping as a means of sustainable self-employment.
In order to make the initiative a success, NEHU Tura collaborated with the District Commerce and Industries Centre of South West Khasi Hills.
Through this collaboration, 444 apiculturists were trained with input support from the DCIC Mawkyrwat.
NEHU Tura Incubation Centre nodal officer R Sasikumar procured the first instalment of 1 tonnes of the organic wild honey from two cluster groups on Friday.
The incubation centre has ensured that the quality of honey from different hot spots of Meghalaya is superior, which has been confirmed by various tests prior to large scale procurement.
NEHU Tura expects to buy 20 to 25 tonnes of honey per year from South West Khasi Hills alone, with a minimum support price and apiculture inputs, such as bee boxes, bee nets, extractors, etc, will be distributed to promising cluster groups to encourage high production of honey.
The Tura incubation centre distributed agricultura, horticulture and apiculture inputs to 500 farmers in Meghalaya during 2019-2023 in collaboration with ICAR-NIBSM, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
