Highlights sweet revolution, skill development in Kashmir
PAMPORE: World Bee Day was celebrated at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Pampore, with a mega awareness programme. The event, marking the birth anniversary of beekeeping pioneer Anton Jansa, featured renowned young beekeeper Nazim Nazir from Samboora Pampore, who recently interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Srinagar visit. Principal Nazir Ahmad Khan, Cluster Head Rabia Naseem Mughal, Mohammad Amin Bhat, Teachers and a number of students attended the programme.
Experts at the event highlighted the crucial role bees play in enhancing crop yields and maintaining biodiversity. They emphasized that bees are vital for sustainable agriculture, with one-third of the human food supply dependent on insect pollination, mainly facilitated by bees. The programme also underscored the employment opportunities beekeeping creates, promoting economic and environmental sustainability.
World Bee Day is observed annually on May 20 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Anton Jansa, a master in the art of beekeeping. Established by the United Nations in 2017, this day aims to raise awareness about the crucial role bees play in safeguarding food security, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture. It serves as a reminder of the importance of bees and other pollinators in maintaining the health of our planet and ensuring food security for all.
Speaking to Kashmir Reader, Cluster at Government Girls Higher Secondary School Pampore, Rabia Naseem Mughal expressed gratitude towards Nazim Nazir, who provided awareness to our children. “Today was a very important day as World Bee Day was celebrated, which has been observed as a tribute to Anton Janša,” she said. “Since 2017, the United Nations has declared this as World Bee Day.”
Rabia Naseem added, “We express our gratitude to Nazim Nazir for coming here and providing awareness to the students. The most significant aspect was Nazim Nazir’s discussion on skill development, emphasizing that beekeeping is a substantial skill in itself. He not only talked about this but also gave a speech on skill education, explaining how we can become doctors or engineers and use our skills to generate employment. This way, we can create job opportunities for others, benefit ourselves, and contribute positively to society.”
Speaking to Kashmir Reader, Nazim Nazir said, “Today we visited Government Girls Higher Secondary School Pampore and provided awareness to the students and staff members about beekeeping. We also shared information about the sweet revolution launched by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016, intending to double farmers’ income by 2024.”
Nazim added, “We provided awareness to the students about the sweet revolution and explained what honey bees are, especially the honey produced in our country so that we can live a healthy life by using honey daily. We conducted this awareness programme to educate the children, and most importantly, I emphasized the importance of having skills.”
Nazir said he recently interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he said that he started beekeeping in the 10th grade. Today, he interacted with 9th and 10th-class students, sharing his life story so they could learn and gain knowledge about beekeeping. He explained what beekeeping is and encouraged those interested in this skill.
Nazim mentioned plans to gradually start training programs here because having knowledge about honey beekeeping is important nowadays. “I want the people of Kashmir to enter the field of beekeeping and work in it. Honey bees are essential creatures for the entire world, as Anton Janša also said, if bees disappear for four years, the world would be destroyed because they help in pollination,” he said.
“Today, there are many benefits from beekeeping: you earn money, get honey, improve health, and benefit from pollination. Additionally, beekeeping provides cosmetic and wax products, making it a very valuable creature that we must protect. If we see bee swarms in our neighbourhood or anywhere else, we should not harm them at all,” he added.