BEEKEEPING
&
DEVELOPMENT
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The following item is taken from a report prepared by BETRESP (Henk van Blitterswijk, Dabbel Bahadur Bam, Lal Kumar Shrestha, Keshav Pandit Chettri and Jan Hoekstra) for Save the Children Fund/ USA.
Traditional log hive with spiny branches on top and plastered with an ash mixture al both ends where the log can be opened
These findings are from a survey carried out in the Gorkha District, in the western region of Nepal, about 100 km west of Kathmandu.
The survey was to evaluate the beekeeping development programme of Save the Children Fund in the district, as well as to advise on future actions. Beekeeping can be an income-generating activity This is the main reason for promoting it However, quantifying and generalising the profits of beekeeping is extremely difficult for various reasons:
the skill of the beekeeper is of major importance;
(NRs = Nepali Rupees)
*
some places are more suitable for beekeeping than others:
e
honey harvests vary from year to year;
e
LOG HIVE
some strains of bees are better than others;
manna (9 6 kg) per year. Price per manna (0.8 kg): NRs 50 ($1)
log hive |
year
cost*
benefit
0
honey NRs 600 ($12) honey NRs 3000 ($60)
e
Based on the figures (left), the following can be e
WALL HIVE Recorded average yield: 8 manna (0.4 kg) per year. Price per manna (0 8 kg): NRs 50
1
cost* 0
year
(SI).
benefit
MODERN TOP-BAR HIVE’ Recorded average yield: manna (10.4 kg) per year. Price per manna (0.8 kg): NRs 50 ($1).
e
However one important question has to be answered, “Can a farmer continue improved beekeeping in the long run completely without outside financial aid?” Only a positive answer means that one is supporting an economic undertaking.
*
A beekeeping programme does not have to
|
Top-bar hive
cost
benefit
NRs 700 (S14) NRs 700 (S14)
honey NRs 650 ($13)
|
|
year
honey NRs 3250 ($65) years 2550 5 NRs Net gain after years: ($51). 5
*
§
the price of both a log and wall hive are arbitrary; many villagers in the survey area consider wood to be free of cost. the design of Kenya top-bar hive being used is at some altitudes certainly too big to properly house Apis cerana colonies.
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FOUR
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The financial input with modern beekeeping with top-bar hives is quite high. The calculated average extra output, the highly fluctuating honey yields and the risks of absconding usually do not justify the initial investment. The costs for the farmer who wants to start beekeeping with an improved type of hive can be decreased by subsidising the equipment, giving equipment as incentives after training, having the hives made locally, sharing equipment or developing equipment of cheaper materials.
honey NRs 400 ($8} honey NRs 2000 ($40}
0 5 years Net gain after 5 years: NRs 2000 ($40).
13
the effect of pollination by bees on cropyield is hard to measure
concluded:
0 years Net gain after 5 years: NRs 3000 (S60). 5
wall hive
difficult to take absconding into
|
Recorded average yield: 12
it is very
account;
focus only on beekeeping with modern hives, but can also concentrate on improving traditional beekeeping.
