Help Returnee Migrants as Honey Growers for Food Security

The COVID‐19 pandemic continues its impact in the life and livelihood of million population across all the sections. Its economic implications have largely impacted the working class, daily wage labourers and street vendors. More than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in past 11 months owing to pandemic. No work, no pay. Uncertainty and vulnerability have crept into their daily life. In addition to upsetting the lives and livelihoods of millions of migrant workers, mostly daily wage earners, with minimal social security, the implications on the rural poor and marginalized sections with inadequate economic and social safety nets has become severe. During April-June thousands of migrant workers from Odisha have already entered to their native places. Many of them may go back to their workplace once the pandemic is over. However, a section of these returnee migrants, with no employment opportunities, will remain at their native places and will be a burden on the rural economy. CYSD is concerned about those migrants having no job option but aspiring to do Agri-allied entrepreneurship, like Mushroom growing, Honey-bee farming (Apiculture), organic manure production, poultry farming, dairy-farming, etc. if resources are available. 

Skill Incubation Centre of CYSD provides Green Skill Training to rural youth, women entrepreneur and local business institution (Producer Group, SHG and Producer Company) based on local resource, market demand, existing experience and trade growth perspective. The Centre provides multifaceted business stimulating orientation including identification of Micro Enterprise Business Planning, Processing & Value Addition of NTFP, Agri-horticulture Products, Credit Linkage, Trade Negotiation and Market linkage, Product Branding & Packaging, Technology linkage and Post Training follow ups.

Considering the pandemic impact and conducting a baseline in Agri-allied sector, CYSD has imparted Green Skill Training on Mushroom Cultivation to around 750 migrant labourers through Rural Livelihoods Training Centre (RLTC) based at Kapundi in Keonjhar district of Odisha. The catchment Blocks of RLTC - Kapundi caters to the needs of returnee migrants of Saharapada and Patna Blocks of the district.

But, 275 registered migrants of two Blocks are aspiring to become “Honey Growers”. Thus, CYSD plans for offering Honey Cultivation training and capacity building to 60 migrants as honey entrepreneurs in Phase-I, depending upon resources available. RLTC is well equipped to accommodate 2 batches residential programmes at one go (9-days course following Government guidelines/modules). Participants will ‘learn by doing’ from demonstration sessions.

60 returnee migrants will have sustainable income – which will contribute to their quality life in a dignified manner. In first phase, 90 returnee migrants from Saharapada and Patna Blocks of Keonjhar district, who have shown their enthusiasm as “Honey Grower” will receive a 9-day intensive training and capacity building programme. Post to the training programme – learn-by-doing method - each trainee will receive a Honeybee Rearing Box with bee colonies. It is expected that from one box around 25-30 kg of honey can be extracted which has a market value of INR 12500 - 15000. The initial start-up support will help these returnee migrants enhance their base and grow as neo-entrepreneur by setting up more boxes of their own. These honey growers would be institutionalised as Farmers Producer Group to develop aggregate marketing and drudgery resilience. The honey cultivation would not only help returnee migrants employed but also increase the agriculture, horticulture and forest produce production rate through enhanced pollination by the honey bees