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Beekeeping contributes to rural development by supporting agricultural production through pollination and by providing honey, wax, and other products for home use and sale
. It offers a good way for resource-poor farmers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas to obtain income, as it requires only a small start-up investment, can be carried out in a small space close to the home, and generally yields profits within a year of operation. A modern approach to bee management, using frame hives and focusing on high quality, will help farmers benefit most fully from beekeeping. This manual is designed to help provide beekeepers with the up-to-date training they need. It presents an inclusive curriculum developed through ICIMOD’s work with partner organizations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, supported by the Austrian Development Agency. A wide range of stakeholders – trainers, trainees, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), associations and federations, and private entrepreneurs – were engaged in the identification of curriculum needs and in development and testing of the curriculum. The manual covers the full range of beekeeping-related topics, including the use of bees for crop pollination; production of honey, wax and other hive products; honey quality standards; and using value chain and market management to increase beekeepers’ benefits. It also includes emerging issues and innovations regarding such subjects as indigenous honeybees, gender and equity, integrated pest management, and bee-related policy. The focus is on participatory hands-on training, with clear explanations in simple language and many illustrations. The manual provides a basic resource for trainers and field extension workers in government and NGOs, universities, vocational training institutes, and private sector organizations, and for local trainers in beekeeping groups, beekeeping resource centres, cooperatives, and associations, for use in training Himalayan farmers. Individual ICIMOD regional member countries are planning local language editions adapted for their countries’ specific conditions
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