Economic returns from beekeeping

The following item is taken from 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.

These findings are from 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;

- some places are more suitable for beekeeping than others:

- honey harvests vary from year to year;

- it is very difficult to take absconding into account;

- some strains of bees are better than others;

- the effect of pollination by bees on crop- yield is hard to measure

Based on the figures (left), the following can be concluded:

- 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.

- However one important question has to be answered, “Can farmer continue improved beekeeping in the long run completely without outside financial aid?” Only positive answer means that one is supporting an economic undertaking.

- A beekeeping programme does not have to focus only on beekeeping with modern hives, but can also concentrate on improving traditional beekeeping.

- The skill of beekeeping greatly determines the outcome of the enterprise Therefore, especially with the high investment in mind, the transfer of knowledge and skills is must. Good training and follow-up are absolute necessities. If this cannot be done, one should not even start modern beekeeping, because losses, especially for the small-scale farmer will be significant.

- To change from traditional methods of beekeeping to modern ones, beekeepers’ attitudes towards their bees must change Instead of “laissez faire” beekeepers must inspect their colonies regularly and manage them.

This process cannot be done overnight and coaching is required It goes without saying that setting an example, proving that modern beekeeping is a worthwhile undertaking, can do more than thousand words.

- One other fact hampering the development of beekeeping especially with Apis cerana has become clear over the last three years and also from the interviews during the survey bee forage is diminishing Because the flight distance of Apis cerana is only 800 metres, lack of forage quickly affects the colonies adversely. Beekeeping programmes must also focus on the planting of bee flora preferably multipurpose species, training alone on bee management is not sufficient

BETRESP have informed us that prices paid for honey in the villages have recently increased (on average) from 50NRs to 80NRs per manna.

In Kathmandu it is possible to obtain much higher prices for honey, but transportation to Kathmandu is the problem. Honey has to be carried over the mountains on someone's back.

The project also reports that recent experiences with movable frame hives have shown that higher yields than those shown left are possible.

(NRs Nepali Rupees)

LOG HIVE

Recorded average yield:

12 manna (9.6 kg) per year. Price per manna (0.8 kg): NRs 50 ($1)

Log hive / cost* / benefit

1 year / 0 / honey NRs 600 ($12)

5 years / 0 / honey NRs 3000 ($60)

Net gain after 5 years: NRs 3000 ($60).

WALL HIVE

Recorded average yield:

8 manna (0.4 kg) per year. Price per manna (0 kg): NRs 50 ($I).

Wall hive / cost* / benefit

1 year / 0 / honey NRs 400 ($8)

5 years / 0 / honey NRs 2000 ($40)

Net gain after 5 years: NRs 2000 ($40).

MODERN TOP-BAR HIVE**

Recorded average yield:

13 manna (10.4 kg) per year. Price per manna (0.8 kg): NRs 50 ($1)

Top-bar hive / cost* / benefit

1 year / NRs 700 ($14) / honey NRs 650 ($13)

5 years / NRs 700 ($14) / honey NRs 3250 ($65)

Net gain after 5 years: NRs 2550 ($51)

* 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.