Beekeeping to help in food security, sustainable development: Israel's envoy

Israel's Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon today said beekeeping is a tool to ensure food security and sustainable development.

"It (beekeeping) not only empowers farmers but also boosts local and national economies," he said at an event here.

"We are very proud to have cooperation with Haryana on beekeeping which can provide support for farmers across India in this integral field," he said.

MASHAV, Israels Agency for international development cooperation, held a seminar at the Indo-Israeli centre of excellence for beekeeping here.

Lectures and discussions were held on importance of maintaining healthy bee colonies and empowering beekeeping farmers.

Over 110 beekeepers took part in the seminar.

This year MASHAV chose to participate in marking the World Bee Day in order to raise awareness of the need for bee populations conservation and its importance for the entire ecosystem, an official release said here.

The integrated beekeeping development centre in Haryana, established under the Indo-Israel agricultural project (IIAP), is the first of its kind in India.

It implements and demonstrates innovative technology and know-how, thus benefiting the local farmers.

MASHAV is providing the knowledge and agro-technical support.

The centre conducts training programmes for local farmers and generates beekeeping protocols for key practices, the release said.

The centre was inaugurated on November 10, 2017.