Why use bees to reduce poverty?
| Crops | % Increase in Yield |
| Apple (various varieties) | 180 to 6950 |
| Litchi | 4538 to 10246 |
| Sunflower | 21 to 3400 |
| Egyptian cotton | 16 to 24 |
| Mustard | 128.1 to 157.8 |
| Pear | 240 to 6014 |
| Source: www.nhm.nic.in | |
Beekeeping is the only form of agriculture with an overwhelmingly positive impact on the environment. And, it enables people derive an economic benefit from natural resources around them in a non destructive way, as honeybees also produce honey and beeswax. It is estimated that the overall benefit of beekeeping is over 14 times the cost of honey and beeswax.
What is UTMT’s Bees for Poverty Reduction?
Bees for Poverty Reduction is the strategy through which UTMT targets rural poverty. Bees besides providing farmers with a remunerative income through the creation of honey, play a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity through cross-pollination.
The framework is unique and innovative as it impacts under one umbrella: livelihood diversification along with increased agricultural productivity, increased employment, enhanced environment and better incomes for farmers as a result of increased access to markets.
UTMT’s BPR framework brings together a number of components to address scalibility and sustainability in a way that has never been attempted in India before.
- Focuses exclusively on the indigenous bee – the Apis cerana indica, available in natural surroundings and an excellent pollinator.
- Diversifies livelihoods by providing hand-holding training support at the farmer’s homestead and increasing agricultural productivity for the small farmer.
- Inherent in the framework is not just a buy back arrangement for the honey and beeswax produced but a buyback at premium prices for the farmer due to organic certification.