How To Start Honey Bee Farming In India

How to Start Honey Bee Farming in India

Bee farming or apiculture means keeping bees on large scale for commercial purposes as business and produce honey to sell. It is also a part of agriculture ad a popular type of farming. The business involves very less investment and less laborious work. But it is difficult to enter into such a business without any knowledge. So here we will try to increase your knowledge regarding the honeybee farming business plan. 

About Beekeeping business plan:

Previously beekeeping or farming was only done by the people who were residing in the hilly regions of India. But now the business has spread to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, etc. People are making a decent amount of money through this business. Here are some great advantages of honey.

Benefits of Honey:

Honey is one of the best and natural sweeteners and also popular for its benefits it gives to health and uses. Honey helps in-

• Cleaning of arteries and blood
• Helpful in throat infection
• Helps in improving memory power in children
• Prevents fever
• Taking honey regularly boost your stamina
• It avoids blood pressure, digestive problem, cough, cold, eye disorder, etc
• It is also included in beauty products as it cleanses the skin

Popular Types of Honey:

There are more than fifty types of honey available throughout the entire world and each has its distinct taste and properties. This difference in honey comes from the flora from which bees collect the nectar. Some most popular types of honey are-

• Alfalfa
• Clover
• Blueberry
• Orange Blossom
• Wildflower
• Buckwheat
• Manuka

Types of Honey Bee Farming in India

There are broadly two types of bee farming that exist in India that is traditional and modern.

Traditional Bee Farming:

This was the technique followed from ancient time by the people. It involves the maintenance of bee houses made of clay, wooden logs, wall cracks, and any similar naturally available product. To extract honey they use to boil their hive or squeeze the followed by filtering the residue to obtain the honey. But all such process was not fit to extract pure quality of honey as it was still muddy and due to which it was sold at a cheaper price in the market.

Modern Bee Farming:

This technique is followed by modern bee commercial farmers. Bee rearing is done in a manufactured wooden box and it is beneficial because it saves the eggs of the bee from damage. Honey can easily be extracted as they attach removable frames in a box which are kept separated from a few distances from each other. The honey that is obtained on the frames is extracted from the machines that operated on the principle of centrifugal movement. Such honey is pure and is fit for selling at higher prices.

About Bee Colonies:

Each bee colony consist of of 3 types of bee

1. A Queen bee
2. Female bees(usually up to 30,000)
3. Male drones(usually around 100 for the purpose of breeding and increasing the population of the colony)

There are mainly 5 varieties of bees that are kept for honey bee farming

1. Indian hive bees
2. Dammer bees 
3. European bees 
4. Little bees
5. Rock bees

Best Place to Start Honey Bee Business Plan

You have to find such a farm which possess a clean water source may be natural or artificial depends on the your condition. The area should be covered with trees as bees cannot tolerate excessive sunlight. The atmosphere should also be cool with limited moisture content. All such factors are important because they will have an effect on the honey bee business profit. Here is list of the important equipment that you will need in this farming-

• honey Extractor
• Bee venom Collector
• Smoker
• Food graded made of the plastic queen cage
• Queen gate
• SS hive tools of curved and L shaped
• SS knives
• Pollen Trap
• Jelly extraction and production Kit
• Thin and thick beekeeping brushes
• Iron hive tools of curved and L shaped
• Hive gates
• Propolis Strips
• Queen Excluders
• Queen rearing kits

Safety of Bees From Pest and Diseases:

The common insects and pests that are likely to attack bees are brood mites, wax beetles, Varroa destructors, birds, ants, termites, etc. Common diseases that can affect the health of the bees are chalkbrood disease, thai sac, and some more. You can save the bees from such disease by consulting your local horticulture consultant.

Loan availability For Honey bee Farming Business Plan:

Previously government does not give any type of financial support to the honey bee farmers of India. But now that are regulations givens to nationalized banks that they can lend two to five lakh for any honey bee farming business plan. You can contact any nearby branch for more details.

Estimated Cost For Bee Farming:

 (Estimation of keeping100 Honey Bee Box)

Investment

Expense on one box = 3500 Rs.

Total = 3,500 Rs(of 1 box) x 100 boxes = Gives total of 3,50,000 Rs.

Miscellaneous Expenses = 175000 Rs (including the salary of workers, transportation cost, and other).

Income:

• Assume that 40 kg of honey is received in each box in one year.
• Total yield of= 40 Kg for each box x 100 Boxes = 4000 Kgs of Honey
• Assuming the lowest rate of honey as 350 Rs for one kg.
• Total income = 350 Rupees x 4000 kgs = Rs 1400000 (nearly 14 Lakh INR approximately)
• It is a considerable income from comparatively less investment in a single year of production
• Net Profit= 14,00,000 – (350000+ 175000) = 1000000+(ten lakhs approx)

The Final Words:

In short, the honey bee business plan is the most profitable business and can be started with a comparatively low amount of money. The profits on the honey will increase gradually over the years. There is also a good demand for the honey in the market and the demand will never come down owing to the health benefits of honey. So if you love nature and have the patient to deal with honey bees this is the best business that will suit all your requirements.