Plan to produce 70,000 metric ton honey annually

ISLAMABAD: The climate change ministry has finalised an ambitious roadmap to utilise forest cover measuring 5.5 million hectares to produce 70,000 metric ton honey annually in line with the "Billion Tree Honey” Initiative launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to the draft roadmap, a pilot testing of the programme would be initiated at selected sites during the upcoming spring and the requisite forest resource would be used by beekeepers to produce honey specific to particular flora that would be branded accordingly. “The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) shall train selected beekeepers along with technical support, follow-up of on-ground activities and product extraction,” it said.

It showed that the certified beekeepers would be provided with financial support through the Kamyab Jawan programme. The ministry of science and technology will be responsible for certifying honey produced under the programme. The draft stated that as an option, the certified product would be purchased by the National Agriculture Technology Park (NATP), branded and marketed as "Billion Tree Honey".

The NATP is a public limited company registered with the SECP under Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2017, aligned with the ministry of science and technology. Climate change ministry spokesman Mohammad Saleem told The News, “A mechanism will also be provided to support bee flora, improve the quality of honey production, provide livelihoods to beekeepers and sustain the activity through the provision of financial resources. As a result of the initiative, 80,000 jobs will be created for youths in the beekeeping sector. Each of them will likely to earn Rs40,000/month. When local people earn, they will protect forests."

It is estimated that about 10,000 beekeepers are using 300,000 colonies for producing 7,500 metric ton honey annually. “The potential can be enhanced to 70,000 metric ton from the same harvest by using modern beekeeping gear, training, standardisation/certification of the product and intensive marketing,” he added.