CUSB gets Rs 30 lakh grant for beekeeping and pollinator research
The principal investigator of both these projects, Hemant Kumar Singh, said while one project will deal with the establishment of a high-quality nuclear stock centre, the other one will concentrate on the development of bee-friendly flower gardens. The main objective of these projects is to establish a permanent nuclear stock centre for protected, strengthened and improved colonies of Apis mellifera bee species, which will provide the necessary base for quality bee stock production.
In addition, a chain of bee-friendly flower gardens will be developed to provide pollinators with a year-round source of nutrients, he said.
Singh further pointed out that this project will not only strengthen the health and pollination services of bees, but will also be a concrete initiative towards innovation and environmental balance in the agriculture sector, while providing new self-employment opportunities to rural youths.
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Congratulating the university's agriculture department for the sanction of this award, CUSB's vice-chancellor K N Singh said these projects, on completion, will provide training and skill development in beekeeping, colony management, and honey production to rural youth and agriculture students and help the department establish a climate-friendly 'mother orchard', in which high quality fruit species will be preserved and propagated, so that the continuous availability of pollen and nectar to the bees can be ensured.
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