Starting Honey Bee Farming Business,Profits,Benefits - Complete Guide

Updated On : 05-Dec-2024

If we say beekeeping in English (Apiculture), if we consider it as a part of agriculture, then nothing will be wrong. In India, earlier this work of beekeeping was done in high altitude states, but now beekeeping started in many states of India. Even if it is not because it costs less and more profit, and it has many more benefits.

The food industry is on a good footing. We also get many food items from organisms, whose demand is always there. Like honey obtained from a bee. You also know very well what our honey is useful for. Many medicines are prepared from honey. Apart from this, honey is also used in almost all homes to improve health. Not only this, many people are crazy about the taste of honey. There is a great demand for this product in the market. In such a situation, you can start your own business by producing honey.

How can you keep a bee, what things will be needed, you will know all this today in this article, then read this article till the end.

History of beekeeping

The practice of beekeeping has been going on since ancient times, honey was the world's first sweet tasting substance. Honey has been practiced since our ancestors who lived in caves and forests earlier. In olden times we could not get honey in large quantity. Could only get honey from trees, even today the old technology is used in many places. The old technique involves waiting for the bees to leave the hive, or blowing them out with smoke, then squeezing the hive or heating it in a fire to extract the honey, and then filtering it through a cloth. With this technique honey is found, but dusty soil is mixed in it, clean honey is not available, and it does not get good price in the market, there is also another disadvantage that those bees go away forever, And it does not make a hive back in the same place. So how to do? modern beekeeping,

Different types of bees

There are mainly five types of bees used commercially in India.

1. Apis cerana indica (Indian Hive Bee)

It makes one to two kg of honey at a time, from this we can get 10 to 15 honey in a year. This bee is also called Satkochawa bee, the reason for this is because it makes seven such honeycombs one after the other on the tree or on the wall. We can also keep it in boxes.

2. Apis Florea (Dwarf Bee)

From this species of bee, 250 to about 1 kg of honey is obtained at a time. These are small bees that make small hives, its hives are usually seen hanging from trees.

3. Apis dorsata (Rock Bee)

This is the most famous species of bees, and the most honey is also given by bees of this species. It is very dangerous, so they cannot be followed. Their honey is taken from the forest. It makes very big hives on big trees, the big hives you have seen on trees, it makes all this. With this, about 30 to 50 kg of honey can be obtained at a time.

4. Tetragonula iridipenis (asphalt or stingless B)

This bee gives honey in very small quantities, it gives only about 100 grams of honey from a hive at a time.

5. Apis mellifera (European or Italian bee)

This bee is reared in our country, it can be kept in the box. About 25 kg to 40 kg of honey can be obtained from its hive at a time.

What is needed for beekeeping business ?

First of all you have to choose an open place where you can keep the bees safe. You have to take the land according to your bees. To keep a box of 150 to 200 bees, you have to take at least two to two and a half thousand square feet of land. After this, you have to buy such exotic bees from which a good amount of honey can be produced. You get these bees according to the box. For good honey production, you can buy species of bees like Apis mellifera, Apis floria, Apis indica and Apis dorsala etc. , as you will be able to get good quantity of honey from them.

Bees You will get up to four thousand rupees per box, in which there will be around three hundred bees. Now you will also have to gather some resources, including knives, drums, removing machines, and gloves to protect your hands, etc. You will get a honey dispenser up to 25 thousand. After this, you will have to gather some more general resources that you yourself already know about.

How to choose a place for beekeeping ?

The main thing for beekeeping is the place, first of all space will be needed. Bees should be kept in such a place, where the environment is good, there should be a happy place. There should be good trees and plants around, clean water (natural or artificial) should also be around, from which we will get good honey. If there is a crop around it, it will be better if the bees will not have to travel much distance to bring honey, due to this the quality of honey will also be very good.

Which species of bee to choose for beekeeping ?

There are many species of bees present in our country, but only a few species of bees are used for beekeeping . Apis mellifera bee is one of them, you can easily keep them and the best thing is that Apis mellifera bee can give 70 to 80 kg of honey in a year from a box, keep a bee of this species in your bee farm because these bees are the most honeydew and egg-laying species, by following this species, you get the most benefit. It is possible

Beekeeping process

Although the right time for beekeeping is considered between November to January, first of all put the boxes in place, but keep in mind that all the boxes should be at least 6 inches above the ground, so that they can avoid the weather. There is a mesh inside the boxes, where the bees make honey. You can also keep food for the bees inside the box, if the honey comes in small quantity, then keep the sugar inside the boiling box, this will improve the quality of honey.

Honey extraction process

After every 5 to 6 days, honey is to be removed from the boxes. When the beehive is completely filled with honey, then you will understand that the time has come to extract your honey. Many people also extract honey by hand, but we told you about a machine called honey extractor, from which you can extract honey. It has to be removed only through him, because you have to take care of complete security.

When the bees are not in the box, you have to carefully remove the honeycombs with a knife. After that it is a very simple process. You will see some grooves in the machine, you have to place these honeycombs well in those grooves, in which honey is filled. After doing this you have to turn on the machine, the honey will come out very easily and it is poured into the drum, and kept at a certain temperature for 24 hours. After that it is ready for use, from there you can pack it as you want.

Rright time for beekeeping

The best time for beekeeping is between November to January, before that you should arrange all the things in your bee farm and start beekeeping when the right time comes, apart from this you should also keep in mind that beekeeping You should do it in a place where there is a lot of greenery and flowers around, because the bees would have had a minority of flowers to make honey, the more they would drink the juice of the flower, the more honey we would get.

Where to get bees

For beekeeping, you can take bees from those who keep them. He sells you bees with full boxes. A box comes between 2 to 3 thousand rupees, including bees. Or you can also buy bees from the Agriculture Department Center which is run by the government.

How to divide a bee family

During beekeeping, there is only one queen bee in a box and only she lays eggs inside that box. It is larger and brighter in size than other bees, it is easily recognizable in the swarm. The number of drones ie male bees keeps on decreasing, their number increases during the breeding season. Their main job is to get the queen bee pregnant.

Worker Bee i.e. such bees that bring nectar from flowers, make honey, take care of eggs and young, and also make the hive. The number of people increases a lot, and she is not able to live there well, and many of them even leave the box and run away. At such times the bees have to be divided so that they can live comfortably. Place other new boxes near those boxes for division, it is good if there is a queen bee in them, otherwise other bees make themselves queen bees. And then slowly they will move to new boxes.

How to move bee boxes from one place to another ?

There are many beekeepers in India, who take those boxes from one place to another, so that they can get more honey of the best quality. Weather can also be the reason for this, if you also want to take the boxes from one place to another, then keep in mind that there is not much honey in the hives and if there is, then leave first. Make sure in advance the place where you want to take it. Put an iron net on the entrance of the box from where the bees come in so that they cannot run out. Keep the boxes in the direction of the length of the car and take care that they should have minimum jerks so that no one can get hurt. If you have to move during the summer, keep sprinkling water on the boxes frequently and if possible travel at night.

Beekeeping problems and solutions

The main problems in beekeeping can come because bees are living organisms in a group, and if a disease occurs in one bee, it can spread to the whole group, and there can be a lot of damage, then we have to give them diseases. Gotta save. If a fly shows some disease or infection, it should be isolated from other flies, if there are a lot of infected flies in the box, the queen fly should be removed from there, and after a long time when it is cured then The queen bee should be given. To protect against ants, kerosene should be put in a bowl of water, so that the ants do not pass.

Other benefits of beekeeping

In beekeeping, along with honey, wax is also available, and it is also sold in the market. And farming is also very beneficial by keeping bees, when these bees come out of their hive, and take juice from trees and plants. The crop undergoes pollination, due to which the seed is formed. These bees are very helpful in pollination, when it settles from one flower to another, then the pollen grains that are present in the flowers are passed from one flower to another, that is, from the male flower to the female flower, which causes pollination. and the production of the crop increases manifold.

How to learn beekeeping?

The best way to learn beekeeping is that if you have a beekeeping business near you or someone you know, then go there and learn. If you do not have such a system, you can take government training. The government also encourages the business of beekeeping. For this, you get a loan and you can do beekeeping training comfortably for a fee of four to five thousand. After doing this, it will be quite easy for you to keep beekeeping.

Cost of beekeeping

You can start this business in only 20 boxes or less, which will cost about 1 lakh, after that the number of bees increases almost three times every year, that is, the first year was 20 boxes, Within a year, 50 to 60 boxes of bees are obtained from it. Later she keeps on growing.

Where to sell, and how much will be the profit ?

About 4 to 5 kg of honey can come out of one box, which means you will be able to take out about 100 kg of honey out of 20 boxes at a time. When it comes to selling, honey is easily sold in the market for Rs 100 to 150 kg. Or you can easily sell in the village too, or you can sell to a company that sells by packing and branding. In this way, you can earn about 10 to 15 thousand rupees a month out of about 20 boxes. Not only this, the bees increase every month, due to which your profit will also increase every month.

Where to sell the product - Where to sell Honey ?

After you have prepared your honey well, you have to sell it. Nowadays there is a shortage of pure honey in the cities, if you want, you can pack your honey well and sell it mostly in the cities. Apart from this, you can talk about your product on the medical etc of whatever hospital you are in, because even on medical, honey is sold in the form of medicine.

Apart from this, you can sell your product in many quantities through online marketing by creating a store of your company in the online market. You can sell honey directly by contacting people you know. Along with this, if someone wants to buy and sell your product as a company, then you can deal with him. By doing this you can become a permanent customer of your product.

Some things to pay attention to in beekeeping 

To be successful in beekeeping, the beekeeper brother should take full care of something.

1) Decide on the right size for beekeeping, when you should start beekeeping, do all this thoughtfully

2) It is necessary to choose the right species for beekeeping.

3) Choose the most accurate size to get honey from the beehive, often people sit in this without understanding and show early rang in the honey coming out and that is why they do not get much profit in business.

4) Before extracting honey, keep this thing in mind that it is not their eggs in the beehive, only then you can extract honey.

5) Extract honey from the beehive very carefully, if you do not know how to extract honey, then you can get honey with the help of a beekeeper.

6) The place where you are keeping a bee must be clean and hygienic because many types of insects can cause more damage to the bees.

7) To protect bees from disease, mix sugar in water and give them good immunity.

To promote beekeeping business, a website has been released by the government, through this website you can get the address of bee training center and can take beekeeping training from here    www.kvic.org.in/

Complete Honey Bee Farming Business information.Get all details about bee keeping , honey products marketing,profits and more.