Vedanta Aluminium launches Vedamrit honey FPO in Odisha

Vedanta Aluminium launched the Vedamrit Jibika Farmer Producer Organization, now recognised as Eastern India's largest honey FPO, distributing honeybee boxes and training over 500 farmers in Jharsuguda district, Odisha. The CSR initiative links rural income diversification with biodiversity conservation, offering a replicable model for integrating corporate ESG programmes with sustainable agriculture.

Vedanta Aluminium, India's largest aluminium producer, launched the Vedamrit Jibika Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), recognised as Eastern India's largest honey FPO, under the brand "Vedamrit – 100 per cent Pure Honey." The initiative began with distributing honeybee boxes and capacity-building training for more than 500 farmers in Jharsuguda district, Odisha, using a bilingual module in Odia and English covering scientific beekeeping and honey extraction. Each honeybee box is expected to generate approximately ₹16,000 in additional annual income per participating farmer, diversifying income for rural households that traditionally rely on seasonal crops.

The initiative directly affects more than 500 farmers and rural households in Jharsuguda district, with plans to expand the farmer base to more than 1,500 participants by FY2028. The organisation aims to produce around 5,000 litres of premium honey by April 2026 and scale to 20,000 litres annually in subsequent phases, generating approximately ₹1 crore in revenue at full scale. Beekeeping also supports crop pollination, which can increase agricultural productivity by up to 30 percent in some farming systems, strengthening pollinator populations and climate-resilient agriculture across the region.

Participating farmers should leverage the structured training and producer-organisation model to scale honey production toward the 5,000-litre target by April 2026 and the 20,000-litre annual goal in later phases. The launch drew regional policymakers and local administrative leaders, including the district collector and local legislators, reflecting institutional support. For businesses and policymakers, the model offers a replicable framework aligning corporate social investment with sustainable agriculture, rural income diversification and ecosystem health, integrating farmer capacity building, biodiversity conservation and market access within a structured producer organisation.

Key figure — Per-box income: approximately ₹16,000 additional annual income per honeybee box