National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)

The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission promotes scientific beekeeping, implemented by the National Bee Board.

Beekeeping is unusual among allied activities in that it pays twice: the hive produces honey and other bee products, and the bees raise the yield of the crops around them through pollination. The mission is built around both.

Its three mini-missions

1. Crop productivity through beekeeping — using bees for pollination to raise yields
2. Infrastructure for collection, processing, storage, marketing and value addition of bee products
3. Beekeeping research

• Support for scientific beekeeping practice and equipment.
• Infrastructure for collecting, processing, storing and marketing honey and other bee products, and for value addition — which is where the margin is, compared with selling raw honey.
• Research support through the mission's third mini-mission.
• Higher yields in surrounding crops through improved pollination.

The official compilation describes the three mini-missions but does not publish per-item assistance amounts. Get current rates from the National Bee Board or your state horticulture department.

• Farmers and beekeepers taking up or expanding scientific beekeeping.
• Groups and FPOs for the infrastructure and value addition components.

• Assistance is tied to the approved components and unit costs.
• Beekeeping needs training before investment. Bee colonies can be lost to disease, pesticide drift from neighbouring fields and poor management, so treat the training component as part of the project rather than optional.

How to apply

1. Register with the National Bee Board, which implements the mission.
2. Apply through your state horticulture or agriculture department for the component you need — equipment, colonies, or processing and value addition infrastructure.
3. Do the training first. Ask the Bee Board or your Krishi Vigyan Kendra about the nearest beekeeping training before you buy colonies.

Open the official National Bee Board website

• Identity and address proof
• Land or premises details for the apiary site
• Bank account details
• Training certificate where required for the component