Ranchi: Chief minister Raghubar Das promised to provide a one-acre plot in the HEC area to Jharkhand State Khadi Gramodyog Board to set up what would be the country's first Khadi Mall, the largesse announced after he distributed 1,000 honeybee boxes at the board's office on Ratu Road on Saturday.
The chief minister distributed 1,000 boxes - cases 2.5-feet wide and 2-feet high to rear colonies of bees - among 100 farmers of Angara and Jonha of Ranchi and Gumla districts, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a sweet revolution to double farmers' income.
"The khadi board will get an acre in HEC area for a mall soon, which will stock their products. I appeal to people to buy khadi products," said Das.
"We also aim to distribute 2.5 lakh honeybee boxes among 10,000 farmers in the state soon," the chief minister, who also gifted 25 charkhas and 28 sewing machines among women trained by the khadi board, said.
He said the state government was also working out plans to set up processing units, five each in nine districts, to facilitate honey production. "The produce will be bought by the government directly from farmers or self-help groups," he clarified.
State khadi board chairman Sanjay Seth said he was also happy about the promise of land in the HEC area, saying they had plans to come up with the country's first khadi mall.
"Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has agreed to give us Rs 10 crore. I requested the chief minister for space and he readily announced a one- acre plot. Once we get hold of the land, we will speed up the project," he said, adding that they would request the state for funds too.
On the honey revolution, Seth said each honeybee box cost Rs 50,000 but these were being given to farmers free of cost after a basic training.
"One box will produce 50kg honey in a year," he told The Telegraph. "This means, each farmer will end up producing 500kg honey a year. We will buy from them and sell in markets after branding and packaging. Our estimates suggest that in a year, each farmer will earn Rs 75,000-Rs 80,000 as additional income," he said, adding that bee cultivation did not take too much time and could be a lucrative part-time job.
Each box has eight sections (colonies) where male and female bees stay. They have to be kept in a place which is forested with litchi, mango, karanj trees. "Boxes have to be kept in near plants where bees can suck nectar and deposit it in the colonies to form the honeycomb. In 40-45 days, when a box is full, honey can be processed," an official said.
At least 800-900 bees are kept in each colony in a box.
In a fortnight, the board plans to distribute honeybee boxes to 100 farmers of Jamshedpur. A few months ago, they gave 500 boxes. On December 22, 2017, the board launched its brand of honey, Amrita.
