{"id":81784,"date":"2026-08-17T18:22:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T12:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=81784"},"modified":"2026-08-17T18:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T12:53:07","slug":"sweet-revolution-beekeeping-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-08-2026\/sweet-revolution-beekeeping-india","title":{"rendered":"The Sweet Revolution: Promoting Beekeeping and Protecting Pollinators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s honey production has nearly doubled over the last decade, but the sustainability of its sweet revolution depends on protecting bees as essential pollinators and an unpaid agricultural workforce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bees as an Unpaid Agricultural Workforce<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the <strong>Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)<\/strong>, pollinators contribute to almost <strong>one-third <\/strong>of global crop production and enhance yields in <strong>87 of the 115<\/strong> leading food crops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pollination by bees is particularly important for crops such as <strong>oilseeds, fruits, vegetables<\/strong> and several other food crops, making bees an important component of sustainable agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Beekeeping <\/strong>contributes to rural livelihood diversification, employment generation and agricultural productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Beekeeping and Honey Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has emerged as the <strong>second-largest honey producer <\/strong>in the world after China, reflecting the expansion of<strong> apiculture <\/strong>and commercial beekeeping.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s honey production has nearly doubled over the last decade, from about 76,000 tonnes in 2013-14 to roughly <strong>151,000 tonnes in 2025-26<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India exports a variety of natural honey, like rapeseed\/mustard honey, Eucalyptus Honey, Lychee Honey, sunflower honey, etc.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Major Indian states producing honey are:<\/strong> Uttar Pradesh (17%), West Bengal (16%), Punjab (14%), Bihar (12%) and Rajasthan (9%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major export destinations<\/strong> included the U.S.A<strong>, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Almost <strong>70 per cent <\/strong>of India\u2019s honey production is exported ($208 million in 2025-26), and India accounts for around <strong>8.4 per cent<\/strong> of global honey exports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NBHM is a Central Sector Scheme, implemented through the <strong>National Bee Board (NBB), <\/strong>launched for the <strong>overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping<\/strong> and the production of quality honey and other beehive products.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d0dadf\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"688\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-145.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-81785\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d0dadf; aspect-ratio:1.7462917426826365;width:552px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-145.png 688w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-145-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India&#8217;s honey exports have been highly concentrated<\/strong> in the US market, which accounted for approximately <strong>76%<\/strong> of India\u2019s honey exports in 2025-26.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Such dependence exposes Indian beekeepers and exporters to tariff changes, trade restrictions, regulatory barriers and changes in demand in a single major market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low Value Realisation:<\/strong> India largely exports honey in bulk and relatively unbranded forms, limiting its ability to capture premium prices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Untapped Potential of the Domestic Market: <\/strong>India\u2019s per capita honey consumption remains low at around <strong>37 grams per year<\/strong>, despite the country\u2019s large population and expanding production.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A weak domestic market also increases the sector\u2019s dependence on international demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Declining bee health: <\/strong>indiscriminate use of pesticides, particularly during flowering periods, adversely affects bee populations and reduces the pollination services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate testing: <\/strong>Inadequate infrastructure for <strong>Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)-based testing<\/strong>, quality certification, residue testing and traceability can restrict access to premium export markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India should expand beyond honey <\/strong>into beeswax, propolis, royal jelly and bee pollen to increase beekeeper incomes and access higher-value markets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Investment in NMR-based testing laboratories<\/strong>, certification and traceability systems is essential to meet stringent international standards and improve the credibility of Indian honey.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sustainability: <\/strong>The expansion of honey production must not compromise the health of bee populations. Therefore, bee conservation should be treated as an agricultural policy priority as well as an environmental priority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/columns\/women-build-nurture-care-never-just-hobby-homemakers-supreme-court-10833168\/?ref=infinite\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India\u2019s honey production has nearly doubled over the last decade, but the sustainability of its sweet revolution depends on protecting bees as essential pollinators and an unpaid agricultural workforce. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Bees as an Unpaid Agricultural Workforce <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), pollinators contribute to almost one-third of global crop production and enhance yields in 87 of the 115 leading food crops. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Pollination by bees is particularly important for crops such as oilseeds, fruits, vegetables and several other food crops, making bees an important component of sustainable agriculture. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-08-2026\/sweet-revolution-beekeeping-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81788,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81784\/revisions\/81788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}