Delhi: Q
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Qutubgarh
2019: in a honey-tap
From: Jasjeev Gandhiok, A village on a honey chase is new buzz in town, January 20, 2019: The Times of India
Qutubgarh Villagers Turn Bee-Keepers With Khadi Commission’s Help, Extract 1,000kg Honey In 2 Months
As Dinesh Kumar Rana, having woken up early in the morning, leaves home to picks up a couple of villagers and be on their way to their ancestral farm in north-west Delhi’s Qutubgarh, he is chirpy and enthusiastic. When he finally reaches the fields bright yellow with mustard bloom, he could well break into a song whose lyrics could be: Don’t worry, bee happy. You see, Rana isn’t at the village to check on the mustard crop, but to make sure his bees are doing well. The 40-year-old, like some others in the village, is a new-born apiarist — and looking at a better tomorrow, having extracted over 1,000 kg of honey in the past two months.
Qutubgarh was only lately adopted by the Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and in November 2018, along with BJP Lok Sabha member Meenakshi Lekhi, who too has adopted the village, it organised a programme aimed at making the village the capital’s honey pot. With a gift of 100 bee-boxes, KVIC hoped the farmers would have an additional income.
No one, however, quite foresaw another huge benefit of the honey chase. As Umed Singh Rana, a 79-year-old farmer on whose land most of the hives are sited, marvels, “I have been farming for decades now, but never have I seen mustard of such high quality at this time of the year. By the time it ripens in March, the crop yield should be 30-40% bigger and of very good quality too. We have noticed the flowers are bigger, and this has happened only after the bees were introduced.”
The old farmer’s son, Dinesh, is already an expert now having received training in handling bees in November last year. He has quickly learnt that bees fly in a radius of 2-3 km, extracting nectar and come back to their hives, each of which is home to around 10,000 bees. “I’ve suffered 60 stings since I started,” he grins. “Initially, we were hesitant and nervous about the bees, but now we can tell exactly what needs to be done in each box and what each colony requires.”
The initial 100 boxes have increased to 125 because the bees have been reproducing with alacrity in each box. Dinesh explains that when a box is full, hundreds of the buzzing insects are either ‘swarmed’ to a new box or a ‘shallow super’ is added to create a new floor in the box. Each hives produces a full yield every 15 days, and apiarists start keeping any eye on the boxes from day 12 of the cycle.
When the bees have sealed the honey in the waxy lattice in the box, the bees are gently smoked away. Each frame of honeycomb is put in a centrifuge machine, which produces a grainy, whitish substance not unlike buffalo ghee in appearance. The villages call this ‘cream honey’. It tastes wonderful, but has a short shelf life. “So we process it to get the more familiar amber liquid, which last longer in the bottles,” explains Dinesh.
The villagers were initially too sceptical to come on board. But the honey and the crop yield have enthused many. “The economic advantages are clear to see,” remarks Chand Singh from Mungeshpur village. “Youngsters now want to start gathering honey, and the demand for bee-boxes is increasing by the day.”
Padam Singh Tomar, another Qutubgarh local, is happy that the fresh honey is finding takers, mostly in nearby villages. Since November, the village has produced two yields of over 500 kg each. Vinai Kumar Saxena, chairman, KVIC, points out, “Honey derived from different flowers has a distinct and unique quality. This particular honey is produced solely from mustard nectar, but the locals will also try their hand at other varieties.” With the mustard season coming to an end, the hives will, therefore, soon shift to another location, where the accent will be eucalyptus.
While the local apiarists contemplate marketing their honey in a more professional manner, KVIC actually plans to buy directly from them. “Each farmer can earn an additional Rs 50,000 from one box every year from the honey alone,” says Saxena. “We will pay them Rs 300 per kilo and process it before sending it out into the market.”
Saxena adds, “In the next stage of their training, we will teach the villagers how to extract bee venom. This can sell for over Rs 1 crore per kg and is used abroad to create a medicine for cancer.” Another source of money will be the beeswax produced in the hives, for which there is a big demand in the cosmetics industry. Bee pollen is also consumed as a supplement, while items such as honey soaps, shampoos and moisturizers, honey vinegar and apple honey cider can be produced too. Yes, Rana could well sing about not worrying, only bee-ing happy.
