Demand to stop import of honey

Bharatpur, March 28: It has been demanded to arrange the marketing of domestically produced honey. Stakeholders made this demand in the interactive program organized on the occasion of ’17th National Honey Day’ in Bharatpur, Chitwan. In the program, Govinda Prasad Pokharel, Senior Crop Protection Officer of Bee Development Program Bhandara, said that honey has not been sold since last January. He said that there is still 1,500 metric tons of honey in Nepal which has not been sold.

He informed that poor quality honey was imported from India in the same proportion. He says that there has been a problem in the sale of Nepali honey due to cheap import of low-quality honey from India. The annual consumption of honey in Nepal has reached eight thousand metric tons. Eight metric tons of honey has also been exported from Nepal. It is mentioned in the official statistics that while the annual honey import in Nepal is worth Rs. 30 crore and 34 lakh, the export of honey is worth Rs. 1 crore 81 lakh . Shiv Prasad Paudel, the outgoing president of Nepal Beekeeping Federation, said that the farmers are in trouble because of the lack of market for indigenous honey.

He complained that Nepali farmers could not produce honey because the government did not take policy initiatives. According to him, two hundred metric tons of honey have been imported in the last four months. Bee expert Dr. Shivprasad Rizal has said that it is necessary to raise public awareness about bees and honey. Rizal, who submitted a paper on bees and environment, said that bees play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem. Chief District Officer Surendra Paudel opined that the people’s representatives should be active as the authority has been given to the local level regarding the marketing of honey.

On the occasion of Honey Day, Nepal Beekeepers Association Chitwan also fed honey to the public in front of the District Police Office. Narayan Prasad Adhikari, Chief of District Coordination Committee Chitwan, said that he will take initiatives to solve the farmers’ problems. He said that solutions to the problems will be found by keeping the head of the local level. Bee Development Program Bhandara, Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project Project Implementation Unit Chitwan, Agricultural Knowledge Center and Nepal Beekeeping Association Chitwan celebrated Honey Day by feeding honey to the beekeepers and the general public.