The New Nation - Internet Edition

Hoor-e-Jannat

Halima Begum of Tangail district was married off with a poor man of neigbouring Mymensingh district when she was only 13. Endured poverty in her father's house since her birth, Halima finds no change in her plight even after her marriage.

By the time they have got two daughters and their economic condition has worsened further. Then frustrated Halima has started thinking that now it is her turn to salvage their sinking family.

One day she came to know from one of her neighbours about bee cultivation. Later, she received training on it from Proshika, an NGO. Apart from her own capital of Tk 500, she took a loan of Tk 2,000 from Proshika to start bee cultivation. And that was the turning point. Soon she has overcome her economic hardship. Halima, in her late 20s, is now a happy woman.

Shajahan Ali, 32, of Pabna, also has the same story. After graduation, he did not try to get a job. Instead, he began bee cultivation in1997after receiving training from BSCIC. He kicked off his venture with a capital of Tk 5,000. But, now his annual income is much more than Tk 100,000.

Like Halima and Shahjahan, many people have changed their fortunes through bee cultivation.

According to WHO and FAO, bee is a good medium of pollination of plants apart from producing honey. Appropriate temperature, light, water, air, fertility of soil and high-quality seed are essential for the increased production.

Despite ensuring all these requirements, sometimes farmers do not get desired harvest due to lack of successful pollination. Through pollination, bees increase production as well as the standard of seeds. The tiny creatures also help protect the equilibrium of nature. Besides, much capital and labour are not required for bee cultivation.

Bee cultivation in Bangladesh began in 1963. The then East Pakistan Small and Cottage Industries Corporation initiated the programme in Khulna and Bagerhat. But the project could not make progress for lack of appropriate technology.

Later in 1977, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) resumed bee cultivation in a scientific way. Besides, a few government, semi-government and autonomous organizations, and NGOs undertook bee cultivation-related programmes.

Along with training programmes for bee farmers at district level, BSCIC is running projects to provide follow-up programmes, technical assistance and set up bee farms through loans. Besides, it has introduced a bee cultivation centre at divisional level.

Proshika too is playing an important role by undertaking projects relating to bee cultivation and its research. Aiming to establish bee cultivation and honey production activities as an industry, Bangladesh Apicultural Association (BAA) was formed on April 21, 2005. This organization is working tirelessly to open the door of a great prospect of bee cultivation. It is trying to ensure training, technological skills for the farmers, production and use of honey, and publicity.

BAA general secretary Abdul Alim Bhuiyan says four varieties of bee are available in Bangladesh. They are apis malifera, apis dorsata, apis serena and apis frolria. Of them, apis malifera and apis serena can be cultivated in boxes while the other two varieties are available in the natural environment. On average, the honey production capacity of apis serena is 10 kilogram per bee colony. And apis malifera can produce 50-60 kgs of honey in every colony. It is easier to set up bee farms with this variety. Besides, its growth is possible through breeding process and its treatment is easier. Shamsul Islam, deputy director of a bee cultivation project, says living together of queen, male and labourer bees in a scientific way is called bee colony. In one colony, 5,000 to 80,000 can live together along with the queen. A queen can lay 1,800-2,000 eggs everyday and it live 3-4 years.

Various flowers and fruits are available in Bangladesh due to geographical reasons. Bees collect honey from corn type flowers. The highest amount of honey is available from November to June. Mustard is the main source of honey. Besides, bees collect honey from litchi, sundari, keora, garan and different types of flowers.

BSCIC director Jagdish Chandra Saha says, "Following modern system, millions of tons of honey are produced in the world. In Bangladesh, about 1,075 metric tons of honey are produced.

Of them, 810 mt are produced through scientific bee cultivation, 225 mt through honey hunters in the Sundarbans region and 40 mt from other regions. This total production can be doubled through proper initiatives.''

He says bee cultivation is a lucrative profession and with this people can earn a good amount of money in return for little investment. But there is an acute shortage of training facility, books, laboratory, research organizations and experts. If these problems could be addressed people will be attracted to bee cultivation.

Experts say honey is not only a good drink. It also resists different diseases. Besides, there are some important byproducts like bee poisons, royal jelly, pollen etc produced from bee cultivation. These byproducts are used in treatments of many serious diseases.

BAA treasurer Maqbul Hossain, also director of a honey producing organization, says, "Most people are ignorant about bee cultivation for lack of publicity. A government initiative is needed to establish bee cultivation as an industry.''

He says, "Locally produced honey can't reach consumers due to lack of proper marketing. As a result, foreign honey has captured the local market. But the standard of our honey is much better than those. Dabur, an Indian company, exports honey worth Tk 50 lakh every year. Provided proper management, we can export honey.''

Jagdish Chandra Saha says from 1.5 to 2 lakh people are directly involved in bee cultivation. It is an easy and profitable business. It is the only business in the world that does not require any raw materials. Subject to government assistance and patronization, employment can be created for 4 to 5 lakh people in this sector.

If initiatives are taken at the government level, bee cultivation will help reduce unemployment along with ensuring production and availability of pure honey apart from increased foreign currency earning.