Bees for Development Journal 99
PROFITABILITY OF APIS MELLIFERA IN VIETNAM Nguyen Quang Tan, Bee Research Unit, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
PHOTOS © BNGUYEN QUANG TAN
Keywords: Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Asian beekeeping, bee flora, cost benefit analysis, economic efficiency, honey export, investment, Mekong Delta, migratory beekeeping, Tropilaelaps spp, Varroa sp
Introduction
Beekeeping is environmentally sustainable and is a good livelihood practice for many people around the world (Bradbear, 2010). In Vietnam, beekeeping holds an important place in agriculture. Honey is produced for both domestic consumption and for export, and during the last decade Vietnam has been among the world’s top ten honey exporting nations. Of course beekeeping is also crucial for pollination in Vietnam and many plants are dependent on bees to produce nuts, seeds, or fruits: although this value has never been studied in Vietnam, it could be ten times the value earned from bee products.
European races of Apis mellifera honey bees[1] were imported to Vietnam and managed successfully during the early 1960s. In 199192, a study was carried out on beekeeping with Apis mellifera in southern Vietnam (Tan & Binh, 1994). Since then beekeeping has continuously developed and changes have been taking place. This paper updates the information on beekeeping, bee diseases and the economic efficiency of beekeeping with Apis mellifera in Vietnam.
Colonies are moved to new forage sites every few months
All apiaries were migratory with colonies being moved long distances of up to 1,500 km many times a year to reach the best flower sources:
Methodology
Forage source
Location
Thirty-one apiaries were visited and the beekeepers were interviewed using a questionnaire to collect data. These visits took place JuneOctober 2008 in Ben Tre Province of the Mekong Delta. At this time of year, migratory beekeepers from many provinces bring their colonies to harvest longan and rambutan honey. The data collected was processed using cost benefit analysis.
Acacia mangium
The study found that 70% of beekeepers owned their apiaries, while the remainder were employees, and therefore the majority of Apis mellifera apiaries are run by small businesses. Many beekeepers are hired by companies to learn and work in apiaries. After a few years, good employees become owners of the bees and hives with sponsorship from their former employers. Then some of these owners who are very successful for a few years buy more bees, hire labourers, and in turn become new bosses. In this way Apis mellifera beekeeping in Vietnam has increased from a few tens of colonies in the 1960s to nearly one million in 2010. Honey export has grown from 1,000 tonnes in 1990 to 20,000 tonnes in 2010. This suggests that farmers learning from other farmers is a good way to start beekeeping.
Dimocarpus longan Mekong Delta (longan)
Anacardium occidentale (cashew)
Coffea canephora
Results and discussion
Hevea brasiliensis (rubber) Litchi chinensis
Coastal Central, Binh Phuoc and Ba Ria Vung Tau Provinces
MarchAugust
Central Highlands, Dong Nai and Ba Ria Vung Tau Provinces (adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City)
JanuaryMarch
Central Highlands, provinces near Ho Chi Minh City
FebruaryMay
Binh Phuoc Province (100 km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City)
Bac Giang Province (100 km northeast of Ha Noi)
Melaleuca cajuputi Mekong Delta Nephelium lappaceum (rambutan)
Our study found that the typical number of colonies per apiary was 200-300: a manageable number for a skilled beekeeper and a number that can be carried by the trucks commonly used in Vietnam. None of the 31 apiaries produced royal jelly although some had done so in the past. The reasons are because the international market is limited while the local market is small.
Flowering
Mekong Delta
DecemberJanuary
Many times each year March
Many times each year Many times each year
Eighty-seven percent of beekeepers regard the parasitic mites Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps spp as the most serious problems on which they spend most time and money. Bio-technical methods are applied to control the mites: trapping Varroa mites by drone brood removal and making colonies broodless to kill Tropilaelaps mites (Dung et al, 1997). Recently organic acids (formic acid, oxalic acid) and essential oils (Eucalyptus oil, Melaleuca oil, Thymol) are used widely and successfully by the beekeepers.
Ninety-one percent of the beekeepers interviewed said that income from beekeeping was the main income source for their families. Compared with other agricultural sectors, income from beekeeping is higher but it can be unstable and risky. The majority (60%) of the beekeepers are over 40 years of age and 70% had kept bees for more than 10 years. This suggests that beekeeping is not attractive to younger people.
Tan & Binh (1994) reported that the Asian honey bee Apis cerana was kept for a considerable sideline income. Also using rafter beekeeping techniques allowed honey to be harvested from the giant honey bee, Apis dorsata (Tan 2002). 8
