Malik Amin Aslam of Pakistan: the minister extraordinaire gulfnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gulfnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bee population has been dwindling over the past decade due to a variety of reasons, ranging from bacterial diseases to pesticides. File photo
“IT is so amazing what bees do,” said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam at the launch of the ‘Billion Tree Honey’ programme in Islamabad recently. “Bees have evolved to become the most efficient insects to pollinate plants and, in this task, they reign supreme,” the PM’s aide went on to say.
It all started in December last year when Mr Aslam’s ministry along with representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Pir Mehr Ali Shah University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, pitched the idea of planting bee flora to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Realising the potential of bee farming and its significance, the prime minister gave his consent and a month later, a ceremony was held to officially launch the initiative under the ‘Prime Minister’s Ten Billion Tree Tsunami
Islamabad: The Pakistan government is encouraging farmers and livestock owners to take up beekeeping amid the global loss of honeybees.
The ambitious honey initiative aims “to boost honey beekeeping in a more natural way as an alternative source of livelihood for poor and marginalised households and additional income for farmers”, besides ensuring food security and sustainable environmental conservation, Special Assistant to PM on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam, said at the launch of national apiculture (or beekeeping) programme in Islamabad.
Supporting potential beekeepers
Recognising the importance of bees to the country’s food security, forests and national economy, the government has announced to offer support to the potential beekeepers, especially young people, to adopt modern beekeeping. Under the initiative, people will get training from Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) and support such as interest-free loans and buy-back mechanism.
As per official sources, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has approved a tentative timeline for the Billion Dry Fruits Project. This will be the
THE bee is the only insect that produces food consumed by humans. Egyptians knew the importance of the bees which is why apiculture domestication of the bees was shown in Egyptian art about 4,500 years ago.
Learning of its importance recently, the government launched the Billion Tree Honey Initiative to increase the production of honey (Dec 22). In this project, trees like ‘kao’, ‘phula’, ‘kikar’ and others that attract the bees will be planted. This will provide job opportunities to the local communities.
Pakistan is blessed with 12 climate zones, so different varieties of honey can be produced here. Other than honey, bees are good pollinators and travel to more than hundred flowers to arrange nectar for honey. Hopefully, the government will expedite the completion of this project.