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"We have to protect the bees or else there will be a threat to human lives. If there will be no bees there will be no pollination as a result there will be a dearth of food supply and threat to humans," State agriculture minister Gauri Shankar Bisen said here. "State government will consider how to promote organic farming further and restrict use of neonicotinoids that are serious threat to honey bees."
He said the there was a need to protect bees through organic forming and minimize the use of chemicals, pesticides and insecticides.
"State has already made significant steps to promote organic farming and this would help protect honeybees," he said.
An expert Prasun Sarkar of Save Honeybee Campaign demanded ban on use of neonicotinoids which are widely used across India while they are banned in the European countries.
Bees contribute in pollination of almost 50 per cent of the soya crop, in which state leads in the country, an agri educationist Sunil Gangrade of Bhopal-based KJ Education Society said. "Almost 70 of crop pollination are pollinated by honey bees," he added.
"Bees not only protect crops but also an allied farm activity, through which farmers can have additional income," said GS Kaushal, an agri expert and ex-director of the agriculture department.
