Apiculture proves a profitable business for these four youths in Bajali
As the wild mustards are bursting with its brilliant yellow blossoms across fields in Bajali, it not only entices the passers-by, but also the bees.
A CORRESPONDENT
PATHSALA: As the wild mustards are bursting with its brilliant yellow blossoms across fields in Bajali, it not only entices the passers-by, but also the bees. The bright yellow flowers produce an abundance of both pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators, and this opportunity is well perceived by four youths of Bajali who have ventured into a profitable business through apiculture.
Not lamenting being unemployed, the youths from the district chose an unconventional path and are now earning in lakhs by selling honey from their homes. They have set a rare example of self-reliance by bee keeping on a large scale. The four youths– Nishanta, Mrinmay, Uddipta and Heramba – remain busy collecting honey throughout the day. They selected a huge mustard seed cultivation field for honey production near the Mainamati area under Bajali district, around 8 km from the headquarters town of the district in the northern side. As the fields are blooming with yellow mustard, so is the production of honey.
"We have installed about 200 bee hives of Apis Mellifera breed of honey bees, a European honey bee. Apart from that, 100 bee hives of local breed of honey bees were also built in an open field adjacent to the mustard seed cultivation field. We have to collect the honey from the bee beds by a manually-run centrifugal device at an interval of six days from each box," said Nishanta Talukdar, one of the bee keepers.
Mrinmay Kalita said that they target around 10 tons of honey production this season. "We are selling the pure honey locally after filtering at a price of Rs 350 to 400 per kg in the local market," Kalita added.
Though their investment is less, their production is high and they earn considerably from nature. The group said that at first they got some boxes of honey bees from the agriculture department two years ago in 2020 and later expanded with the increased population of queen honey bees.
Also Read: Apiculture as a means of self-employment; Dhakuakhana youths show the way
Also Watch:
