Nawalpur farmers making income from commercial beekeeping

By Meena Kandel,Kawasoti, Dec. 12: Beekeepers in Nawalpur are currently busy harvesting honey. Honey harvesting time of winter season has begun since the month of Kartik (mid-October). The farmers have now started collecting honey from the beehives kept for grazing in the district.

Among the eight local levels of Nawalpur, Devchuli Municipality has the largest number of beekeeping farmers. Jasmati Rana of Devchuli Municipality-9 is currently busy harvesting and selling honey. She has been in the beekeeping business for the past three years. She said, "We have started beekeeping with only two hives. Now there are fifteen hives. We are satisfied with the good income. About one quintal of honey was sold in the first year and two quintals in the second year.”

Rana said that she was selling honey at Rs. 700 per kg. She said that she thought the income from selling honey would come easily as they did not have to apply extra effort and time for beekeeping. “We have to manage hives and only a small amount of food for the bees,” she said. She said that 40 to 60 kg of honey is produced annually from one hive. The beekeeping business can be started with a small investment. As it is easier than other businesses, the attraction of farmers towards beekeeping is increasing in Nawalpur.

Similarly, another farmer Bishnu Bahadur Khadka of Devchuli-9 has been keeping bees along with goat rearing. Starting with five hives, now he has 21 beehives in his farm. He said that he produced 84 kg of honey in the first phase and 120 kg in the second phase.  He said that the beekeeping business which had started with five hives has now increased to 21 hives and had a goal to expand to 50 hives next year. Suk Bahadur Gurung of Devchuli-7 now spends his days taking care of bees. He has been in commercial beekeeping for the past 15 years and has 120 beehives. He said during the rainy season they faced a lack of food and the problem of parasites, but at other times it was easy to keep bees. "I have the support of my family, I started commercial beekeeping after taking beekeeping training, and now there is no problem of market to sell my products,” he said. 

Growing numbers of beekeepers

At present, nearly 200 farmers are engaged in beekeeping business in Nawalpur district. There are 5,000 beehives in the district. According to Yadunath Kandel, president of Nepal Beekeepers Association, Nawalpur, the number of farmers who are engaged in this occupation is gradually increasing every year.

He said that about 50 tonnes of honey is expected to be produced in the district this year. Only 45 metric tonnes of honey was produced last year, but now it is estimated that honey production will increase with the increase in the number of beekeepers, he added. He said that honey produced here is sold in the local markets and in the nearby cities.

Problem of grazing areas

Although farmers can make a good income from beekeeping, grazing bees has become a problem. When there is a problem of grazing locally, there is a compulsion to take the bees to different places to graze.

Since mustard plants blossom late in Nawalpur, the farmers have to take the bees of the first phase to other districts to graze. Farmers of Nawalpur take bees to Dang, Kapilvastu and Pyuthan for grazing. President Kandel said that the bees taken elsewhere for grazing are now brought to the district after the mustard blossomed.