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Economic of Bee
keeping
 Keeping bees for purpose of honey production dates to more
than 2,000 years ago. Now a days it can be good source if
income for people, irrespective of their age and gender.
As Pakistan is free from serious bee diseases,comman in many
other countries ,this strengthens our potential for honey
production .In addition ,the occidental honey bee Apis
Melifera , successfully introduce here ,has the advantage of
laser sting ,fewer swarming habits and a higher yield of honey
then local varieties. Presently, crops and trees in Pakistan
produce nectar and pollen worth billing of rupees.
Cultivating bees can also generate tremendous benefits for
other rural industries via cropping trough pollination. For
example, in Japan More than 74,000 honeybee colonies are
annually used for the pollination of the strawberry crop.
Farmers pay 8,000 to 15,000 yen per honeybee colony so that
these can be kept in their strawberry fields during the
flowering period .In California; bee keepers earn 30 million
dollars by renting honeybee colonies to the farmers for
pollination purposes.
These benefits need to be recognized in our country also.
Honeybee cultivation can be a lucrative industry for Pakistan.
A focus on marketing would in crease the industry
competitiveness. As. Breeder honey bee queens are very
expensive e.g. the breeding stock in Australia is sold at A$
200 per breeder queen, beekeeper face difficulties importing
such stock. there for , it is necessary to establish queen be
breeding centers .Through better marketing , research ,
improved technology for packaging and quality control
,Pakistani honey would be able to command premium price .
By Dr . Nasreen Muzaffar
The writer is directive, Agriculture & Range management
Institute, National Agriculture Research Center, Islamabad
courtesy Daily The Dawn 27
January, 2002
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