Many people have become financially solvent after engaging in honey harvesting activities in Rajshahi including its vast Barind tract.
Honey hunting is expanding gradually in many new areas contributing a lot towards employment generation and boosting honey production.
Honey farming has gained popularity in the region as many people attained success through commercial honey harvesting. Like previous years, Ataur Rahman, a farmer of Namajgram village in Godagari upazila, remained involved in honey harvesting in mustard field since 2000.
At the initial stage, he gained profit through setting up 10 boxes that encouraged him to enhance the number of boxes in the following years. In this season, he has set up 265 boxes in different areas.
“I have harvested 16 kilograms of honey from each box in last 10 days,” Ataur Rahman said. He earns more than Tk 700,000 every winter season through his commercial honey harvesting setup.
“I am self-employed and honey harvesting made me self-confident,” said Ashraful Islam Sumon, another farmer of Hasnabad village under Godagari upazila, adding that he has collected 14 kilograms of honey from each of his boxes in last 12 days.
“I got 38 maunds of honey from my 67 bee-colonies in Borobilla area under Paba upazila. I sold 10 maunds to locals. Now I am waiting to sell the rest to a company at a good price,” said Habibur Rahman Babu, a farmer in Darusha village under the same upazila.
Mustafizur Rahman, additional director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said more than 225 tonnes of honey was produced in the region during the current season, five times higher than last year.
Farmers of Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore, Chapainawabganj and other adjacent districts have been engaged in honey extraction since mid-November, reports BSS.
Farmers set up 7,876 bee-colonies near mustard fields around different villages and extracted around 75 kilograms of honey from each colony in two weeks.
The farmers said they were able to sell one-third of it to local people and to wholesalers at around Tk 150 per kilogram, and are talking with companies to buy rest of their honey stock.
“If we manage to sell the honey to companies priced between Tk 150 to Tk 200 per kg, then we can make some good profit,” said growers.
A number of growers said the same adding that they have to spend about 50 per cent of the earning to meet the cost during extraction and for feeding the bees during the off-season.
Prof Dr Bidhan Chandra Das from Department of Zoology at Rajshahi University said honey farmers need technological support, financial assistance and a sound of marketing system.
“It’s possible to make honey farming a million-dollar business for the country, creating huge jobs,” he said. “If the government takes proper steps, honey production will get a boost, ushering in a new opportunity for export,” said Dr Das.
