Honey production
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 17 2014:
Manipur State Horticulture's initiative to rear Meliphera bee in the state has failed drastically.
National Vegetable Initiative (NVI) member Bobby Devi Laishram told media persons today that rearing the bee species, which the Horticulture Department had distributed across the State to farmers for rearing, is fetching lesser and lesser profit for the farmers.
The bee species is reported to have died massively over the last three years.
Bobby, attributing the mass death to the changing climatic condition, also blamed the department for not imparting proper training to the farmers.
At this condition, Bobby added, necessary steps should be taken up at the earliest else the State would suffer a major decline in honey production.
Bobby further added that such disaster would not have occured if the farmers continued rearing the local honeybees for they are more knowledgeable about rearing those species than Meliphera.
Also, she added, the State could have saved huge amount of money that went in the importation of these bees.