Beekeeping: A profitable business becomes vulnerable to climate change
PESHAWAR : Believing in his own abilities despite limited financial resources, Ataur Rehman was working against the time to shift his bees’ boxes to a safer place after heavy torrential rains and flash flood that hit Peshawar division on Thursday.
Belonging to village Dheri Ishaq in district Nowshera, the 35-year-old beekeeper was assisted by his cousins to shift his 60 bee-boxes from inundated fields to a safer place after heavy torrential rains and flash floods in his hometown located on the bank of River Kabul.
Carrying boxes on their shoulders, he said weather’s vulnerabilities including heat waves, torrential rainfall and flash floods mostly caused by climate change were making an adverse effect on beekeeping in the country.
Associated with the hard earned business for the last 15 years, Rehman said he assumed the responsibility of this job after the death of his elder brother, Haidyatur Rehman and had suffered great financial losses after all of his bee-boxes were washed away by 2010 floods.
“Following 2010 floods, I restarted beekeeping with limited resources and few boxes and today my business flourished courtesy of the financial support of my relatives,” he said.
“In the past, the beekeepers had shifted bees-boxes to Punjab and Azad Kashmir due to lack of bees flora plants in KP but now the situation has improved in our province owing to the billion trees afforestration project.
“I came from Wapda Town to buy 12 kg bottles of my favorite ber honey for my family and relatives due to its numerous health benefits,”, Zeeshan Khan, an employee of Forest Department told APP at Tarnab, the hub of honey’s trade and business in Peshawar.
“For the last six years, I have been coming to Tarnab to buy my favourite honey and send it to my married sisters as ‘gift,” he said, adding Rs 100 per kg increase was witnessed this year compared to last year in the market due to increase in fuel and transportation charges.
Sher Zaman, General Secretary, All Pakistan Beekeepers Association said that climate change has made an adverse effect on the beekeeping sector as evidenced by 2010 floods’ devastation, heat waves and weather vulnerabilities.
He said increased effects of climate change, deforestation, cutting of bees flora plants and excessive use of a variety of poisonous pesticides on agriculture crops were weakening bees and making them susceptible to various ailments.
“Around 35,000 beekeepers including 7,500 registered were directly involved with this business while over 1.5 million people’s indirectly associated with it in KP.”
“Beekeeping is a profitable business and any person with at least Rs 250,000 to 300,000 can easily purchase 50 to 70 bees boxes to achieve up to 20kg to 30 kg honey from each box twice a year,” he added.
He admitted that slight adjustment in prices of ber and palosa honey was made owing to hike in fuels and transportation charges besides foreign made medicines and sugar.
Zaman urged the KP government to impose a ban on cutting of ber and palosa trees on the pattern of deodara and award strict punishment to timber mafia to save the little creature from extinction.
He said introduction of a national bee breeding program would help meet local demands for quality queens and efforts should be made to promote commercial beekeeping, apiculture products and services for maximum financial gains.
Iftikhar Khalil, Director, Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), Forest Department said Pakistan was blessed with more than 700 plants, mostly bees-flora, attracting millions of indigenous and exotic honeybees every year.
Being a home to four famous honey bees including Apis Cerana (small bee), Apis Dorsata (wild bee), Apis Flori (little bee) and exotic Apis Mellifera, he said Pakistan has huge potential of producing over 7,500 to 8,000MT honey from about 300,000 colonies per year.
Admitting climate change’s negative effects on the population of Apis Flori and Apis Dorsata commonly known as “Swat bees”, he said Apis mellifera was imported from Australia in 1977 owing to her speedy growth and increased power of honey production.
A research project was launched at Agriculture Research Institute Tarnab, Peshawar, Faisalabad and National Agriculture Research Centre Islamabad in 1979 to analyze mellifera’s properties.
He said mallifera produced about 20 to 25 kg honey per box against six to eight kg by native bees two times in a year. “Apis Dorsata has an ability to produce 40kg to 45 kg honey from each hive mostly in tall trees and buildings,” he said, adding around 120,000 to 150,000 wild bees were busy in one meter-length and half-meter wide comb making 120 degree angle.
“The bees collect pollen and nectar within a five-kilometer radius of their hives and the majority prefer to get food while staying close to their combs. One bee produces 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her life and flapping their wings 11,000 times per minute besides using her tiny hairs to take pollen and stomach to carry 70mg nectar.”
The director said about 60,000 bees in one box produce up to 20 kg of honey and two queens in a same colony cannot live together. In case of an emergence of a new queen, the older one often leaves the box with 35 percent bees to avoid clash and forms its own comb.
Iftikhar said honey bees were the lifeline of Pakistan as they play 80pecent percent of the pollination process besides making a significant contribution in the food chain and life saving medicines.
He said the commercial production of apis malifra has been started in Pakistan after the increase of our ber and palosa honey’s demands at international markets especially in the Gulf.
He said about Rs 43 billion revenues could be generated and over 100,000 new jobs to be created after achieving 70,000MT honey target, adding 10,009 exotic bees has a potential of producing 100 tons honey per year with financial benefits of Rs75 million.
Iftikhar said annually 10 tons of honey can be produced from indigenous bees with annual economic benefits of Rs38 million and collectively Rs113 million income from the beekeeping sector in KP.
He said about 5.2 million ber trees would be planted in Karak, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank and DI Khan district under 10 BTAP, adding plantation site at Karak and Kohat were selected for bees flora plants on 100 acres land.
Iftikhar said about 10percent bees flora plantations under 10BTAP would be achieved during the next two years. He said training to 2017 people was provided while 198 beekeepers trained during last four years.
PC-I of “apiculture scaling-up program for income and rural employment (ASPIRE)” project has been prepared and as per MoU signed among various organizations, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NVTTC) was mandated to launch National Beekeepers Certification Program besides financial support to certified beekeepers while the Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for certifying the produced honey.
The three year project would be completed with an estimated cost of Rs500 million. Accredited bee product standardization lab at PMAS Arid Agriculture University at Rawalpindi would also be established.
He said a new type of honey “Margalla” was introduced by Pakistan Council of Agriculture and Research (PCAR) mostly useful for asthma and allergy patients while “Ber and Kalongi” honey was also brought in markets.
Ibrahim Khan, Deputy Project Director, 10 BTAP said bees flora plants including ber and palosa were made part of 10BTAP plantations, adding 5.2 million ber saplings would be planted in southern districts of KP by 2023.
“We have inked an agreement with KfW German bank that would provide Eruo 13.5 million for billion trees afforestration support project focusing on sustainability of forest projects and promoting non timber forest produces for alleviation of poverty and generation of jobs for local communities in order to protect the green gold.(APP)
