Lack of pastures pushes Baitadi beekeepers to Terai

By Gokarna Dayal,Baitadi, Dec. 21: The bee keepers of Baitadi have migrated to Terai to graze their honeybees. Torrential rain around the time of Dashain this year destroyed pastureland. So, bees have not been able get enough food in the hills. That is why they have to be taken to the plains by their keepers to prevent starvation.

Sudarshan Lekhak, a beekeeper of Pota, Dasharathchand Municipality–5, went to Kailali a few months ago with his 125 beehives. “This is the first time I have come to the Terai from Baitadi,” he said.

Lekhak keeps Cerena species of bees and he said that he brought to Kailali to graze on flowers of mustard plants.

Lekhak, who informed that he earned Rs. 1 million per year by means of bee farming, said that excessive rainfall created a shortage of pastures in the hills this year. “It rained unexpectedly heavy this September. This has created a lack of meadows for the bumblebees,” he shared, adding that this had also caused his honey output to drop.

“I used to produce 15 quintals of honey in previous years. But this year, I only managed to produce four quintals.” He also complained that he received no help from the local government of the Agriculture Knowledge Centre (AKC). Not only that, the AKC put him in debt, he said.

“The Centre told me that they wanted to buy 200 hives of bees. So, I took out a loan of Rs. 1 million from the bank, built the hives and reared the bees. But it backed out at the last moment, causing me great problem,” he said.

Lekhak, who has established the Nagarjun Beekeeping Factory to sell bees and honey, said that he started harvesting honey after a month of coming to Terai. However, it is not as tasty as the honey his bees produced in the hills. “Nevertheless, I have been able to sell a kilo for around Rs. 1,300.”

Lekhak is just one of many Baitadi farmers who have started keeping bees to make a living. But this year was disappointing, expressed beekeeper Basudev Bhatta. “The lack of pastures affected the quantity of honey we produced. This decreased our income,” he said.

He also said that not all farmers were able to migrate to the plains to keep their bees fed. “Not everyone can afford to relocate their hives. The local level and the AKC should have stepped up at this moment but they have failed to extend any assistance,” he criticised.