ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: President Dr. Arif Alvi has urged the need to increase the production of honey in Pakistan by utilizing modern beekeeping gear and imparting training to beekeepers along modern lines.
While chairing a follow-up meeting on Honey Bee Farming and Harvesting at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Monday, the president said that the congenial climate and flora of the country provided a conducive environment for expanding beekeeping which had great potential to earn foreign exchange and provide employment opportunities to the youth of the Country.
The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, the Chairman Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan, the President All Pakistan Beekeepers and Honey Dealers Association (APBHDA) Naeem Qasmi, the Secretary-General APBHDA Nouroz Khan, the Member APBHDA Professor Dr. Syed Ishtiaq Anjum, senior officials of Ministries of Climate Change, National Food Security and Research, Finance, Commerce and other senior officials of the government.
The Ministry of Climate Change and the ARID University briefed the meeting about the steps being taken for the training of beekeepers and the development of beekeeping sector in the Country.
The Chief Conservator Forest Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Gohar informed the meeting that his department would plant six million Berry trees and 10 million Phulai (Acacia Modesta) trees in order to increase the yield of honey.
While addressing the meeting, President Arif Alvi said that the government was encouraging young entrepreneurs and providing them interest-free loans up to Rs 500,000, under the Kamyab Jawan Program, to establish and run their own businesses.
The president called upon the youth to take benefit of the opportunities as they could establish beekeeping business with limited investment.
