About FIA

The Federation of Indigenous Apiculturists (FIA), a collective of beekeepers’ collaboration has more than 2500 life members on roll and is a registered not-for-profit NGO, since 26-3-2008. FIA is registered under the Travancore – Cochin Literacy, Scientific and Charitable Societies registration Act XII of 1955 and operating in Kerala. FIA has the recognition of the National Bee Board (NBB) and National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Government of India. FIA has been  registrered and  enlisted for  CSR funding, by the  government of India and DHARPAN registration.

The Federation is administered by a state level committee and have district committes in all 14 districts.

Beekeeping (Apiculture) is an age-old enterprise that is practiced by rural-folk in our country. Honey is the main product that has influenced human diet and nutrition in a big way. Right from new borne to very old humans, honey has been a natural gift for wellness. The significance of Captive bee keeping has become an intensive commercial enterprise  globally. Crop pollination and foraging for honey and pollen could be utilized skillfully for quality crop production besides  harvesting honey and pollen from bee colonies. This dual benefit makes apiculture a commercially attractive venture.

ACTIVITIES

  • Skill Development for beginners in beekeeping in apiculture and meliponiculture

  • Monitoring of diseases and pests
  • Advisory service establishment of apiary, monitoring of seasonal management
  • Supply of disease free colonies and bee appliances
  • Dissemination of technology for quality honey production, pollination service and biodiversity conservation
  • Marketing of honey, hive products and value added products of honey
  • Developing marketing linkage with supermarkets within and abroad
  • Release of News letter ‘THENEECHAKARSHAKAN’
  • Provide information to beekeepers and others through FIA website

Augmenting Crop pollination is vital for states such as Kerala maximize the quality and productivity of major cash crops such as spices, pulses, vegetables and fruits. The country has made significant advancements in research on crop pollinators including domesticated honey bees under the network project “All India Coordinated Research Project on Honeybee and Pollinators” funded by the “Indian Council of Agricultural Research”. The outcomes of this Project has been the most critical technical input  for FIA to propagate ‘Good Apicultural Practices’. Further, scientific processing of honey based products for consumption has improved  the profitability of apiculturists and many honey-based products have become consumers’ choice today.

FIA proposes to establish a honey processing  plant on its campus to help farmers to processing  of raw honey scientifically and ensure its medicinal worth. FIA has the ambitious vision and plan to market ‘HALLMARKED’ quality assuranced (purity and homogeneity) honey and other bee hive products of FIA member-apiarists.

FIA supports the concept that Honey is a  super food for humans and hence its production, processing and availability in the natural and pure form is  a social need of the hour as it can improve immunity in  pandemic situation.

FIA targets to create at least 10000 stingless beekeepers in Kerala over the next few years. The honey from these bees is sought after for its medicinal worthiness and is in high demand from the  pharma-industy. Marketing of such honey with FIA certification can fetch higher price for  the apiarists.

FIA’s larger aspiration is the overall economic benefaction of Apiary farm families, with an ultimate view to provide sustainable income and social security. It is pertinent to highlight the yeomen service of Indian beekeepers in enhancing the quality and quantity of farm-gate commodity production. Moreover, there is ample potential for production of pure honey from Kerala due to diversified crops which provide pollen and nectar to bees.

Concurrent improvement of technologies and products development is a major goal of  FIA. The R&D output would fortify the confidence of bee-keepers to take on the market with many novel food products.

Our goals are in absolute line with vision of PRADHAN MANTRI MADHU KRANTI – HONEY MISSION programme. The MSME Ministry, Government of India has evinced interest and expressed its appreciation to FIA for establishing a HUB FOR NATURAL PURE HONEY at Pravachambalam, Thiruvananthapuram. Imparting training on scientific apiculture and providing inputs to 2000 selected bee keepers will facilitate a cluster of beekeepers who can supply  Natural pure honey directly from hive to consumer is the need of the hour. Adopting  high – tech apicultural technologies,  income of the artisan apiarists can be  increased,  by  3-5 fold through the production of high quality honey and value added products.

FIA focuses on quality improvement of honey and bee colony health to sustain the high-tech. Backed up by FIA’s high-tech apicultural technologies, know-how for business development through value addition, smart marketing of high value bee-hive products such as royal jelly, bee venom, pollen, wax and propolis FIA contemplates to develop intellectual property protected technologies that can secure stability of apiculture industry through marketing of value-added food products.