Attaining prosperity through apiculture

Consumption of honey has increased significantly in the recent years in Bangladesh. Nowadays, there is a huge local demand for honey. According to a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation’s Bee Keeping Project, the local demand for honey is about 35,000 metric tonnes.

From time to time, we come across news like how there has been an increase in honey production. Three years back it was reportedly 6000 MT, and latest media reports suggest it has increased to 10000MT. We have a shortage of 25,0000MT of honey per year, vis a vis the local demand. The difference between our honey production and demand is huge. That means there are plenty of things to do and achieve in this sector.

To meet our local demand, we import 60 to 70 per cent of our honey from different countries of the world, mainly India. Moreover, there are doubts among the industry insiders regarding the quality of the honey that is imported. It is even an open secret that the imported honey industry is a monopoly business, as only a few companies control the market, which should not ideally be the case.

There is a misconception among many that real honey does not thicken. As a matter of fact, pure honey will thicken. In that regard, several brands of honey that do not congeal are available in the market. People associated with market and consume rights should monitor and check twice before permitting such brands to sell their goods in the market. Many unscrupulous traders are using certain flavourings and sugar and passing them off as real honey. As many people here believe that pure honey never congeals some traders add sugar to honey in order for it not to congeal. Obviously, it should not be considered as pure honey. It just becomes a mixture of sugar and various flavours.

Honey, the golden nectar, has been used by most civilizations. Be it the Egyptians or the tribes of Peru. Bees collect honey from the flowers of their surrounding environment. Bees make beehives or colonies where they continue consuming, digesting, stocking, and through that process, honey is made. We get pure raw honey from the beehives. In our country beekeepers travel from one city to another with their bees. They look for suitable places where seasonal crops are been cultivated, allowing their bees to collect the honey from those crops.

Bangladesh is blessed with honey consisting of different flavours. The colour, aroma, and taste of honey vary based on the bees’ locations. During this time of the year, beekeepers are working in the nearby fields where mustard crops are being grown. Normally, November to April is considered the best time for honey collection in our country. However, apiculture can be continued throughout the year.

As stated earlier, there is a growing demand for honey, and the pandemic has trigged the demand to rise more. Physicians have always pointed out the benefits honey had to offer, such as how good it is for the immune system. The pandemic has forced people to give more importance to their own health and that of their loved ones. Thus, one can safely say the consumption of honey has increased significantly in the last couple of years. The golden nectar of our country is mostly produced from seasonal fruit gardens, mustard, black cumin, and coriander fields. Our honey collected from the Sundarbans is internationally-acclaimed. There is a huge demand for it in the local and the international market. However, only 400 to 500MT honey is being collected from that part of the country. Many companies are selling imported honey extensively, based on good marketing strategies and unique, attractive honey bottling. Giving a touch of artistic flair in the honey jars or bottles can easily sell help sell the product at a higher price.

According to Khondaker Aminuzzaman, former director of the Development of Beekeeping through Modern Technology Project of BSCIC, Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute or BSRI, has been given the responsibility to conduct further research and surveys with honey and apiculture in our country. However, there has been no strong feedback from their part in the last couple of years. And it will be wise to have the institute only assigned with the research and development of apiculture. While working, he saw Bangladeshi raw honey sent to different counties like Japan, Slovenia, India, the Middle East, and the European Union (EU). All of them gave good feedback and there is genuine repute and demand for Bangladeshi honey.

It is estimated that per MT of raw honey costs no less than 2 lakh taka. Considering that and adding all the labour costs, land, equipment etc., it is a big market. There are more than 25000 farms are associated with apiculture. There is a general prediction that about 2.5 lakhs people earn their livelihood by working in this particular sector. Today there is growing concern regarding unemployment in our country. Since many students today are becoming entrepreneurs and working at part-time jobs, one can gaze closely at the honey industry’s opportunities. Many youths opt for their farming career even in some of the most advanced and modern countries like Germany, Denmark, and Canada. How do you make people more interested in investing their time and sweat into something? By upholding the potential and opportunities that particular sector has to offer, well. For example, Bangladesh Small and

Cottage Industries Corporation offers a loan of Taka 2.30 Crore to the farms that want to develop. More importantly this loan is given from BSCIS own fund, so there is not that much of a hassle to acquire the loan if you have the proper documentations and active projects. (BSCIC) has six divisional offices in six different districts. They all offer some basic training to those interested in learning about apiculture. There are some NGO’s who also offer training. The government bodies associated with this sector must ensure that more advanced training programmes are available for the interested people. Our honey experts believe, there are different challenges in front of us. In order to overcome all the obstacles we need to have an institution or body only dedicated to honey and apiculture development. People who have found success in this sector should be highlighted and allow to share their success stories. Different financial associations can offer loans or other benefits to the beekeepers. We ought to have better testing processes to ensure the quality.

The writer is a journalist