Hi everyone, I am interested in Honey bee farming.
Does any one knows if there is any one to help me in and around Shimoga district.(Karnataka)
I need Honey bees and the equipments needed for bee keeping.
Regards
Manjunatha
Hi Manjunath,
Recently GKVK had conducted a 2 day bee keeping course. I had attended the same and it is very informative. As regards to the equpt almost everything is available at GKVK, Apiculture dept, Bangalore.
Since you are at shimoga, suggestion is buy the boxes and with local help get it loaded (Bee colonies) from nearby forests. That is what GKVK also does here.
Regards
Murali KG
Dear Murali,
Thanks for the information. I will definitely try at GKVK.
Also if you get any information regarding training in Bee Keeping, pls inform me at manjunathahms@yahoo.com.
Once again thanks.
Regards,
Manjunatha
Murali, do you have any contact at GKVK who can be reached out to and also was there any suggestions during the training on the marketing aspect/buy back arrangement (apart from the Khadi gram Udyog’s) by private apiaries? any material/contacts/collateral that can be shared please? TIA
Dear Manjunath & CSplantations,
Are you interested to travel and meet the successful people who has achieved something better than us?
If yes, than get back to me all those wanted.
Hi CSP,
I do have the details, I will mail it to you separately. Else if you are from Bangalore, you can walk into GKVK campus, seek the apiculture building. You can meet the HOD and his staff. Very very supportive. I have misplaced their details and searching for that.
Since GKVK is only an agri university, no marketing or other buy back deals with them. It is wrong on our part to seek that also. During the training, almost all the aspects of honey bee, their behavior, how to handle them etc etc was imparted. All the required eqipts are available with them that can be bought. Of all these only the bee boxes which cost around 1000 Rs is required to start off. But to get them loaded with bee colonies is the cumbersome part. Can be done only by experts.
Regarding marketing as per them, what ever you produce gets sold, more so by word of mouth.
Regards
Murali
We are thinking of 500 boxes to start with. Honey can also be sourced from others who do it on a smaller scale and are now selling it to Khadi Grama udyog at cheaper rates. At this moment we just want to concentrate on production and processing and probably have a agreement to sell off to some private players for further branding and marketing. We have some experienced bee keepers with us. Was looking at some kind of pointers on how best to establish the final marketing links. Some kinda retailer? any ideas?
Hi CSP,
Start small. 500 boxes would be too much if the surrounding is non forest area, they will perish when there is no food. Round the year the area should be flowering. Else you may have to artificially feed them.
Out in the north have a look at this
kashmirhoney.com/beekeeping.html
These are european bees, do not survive in south. Their productivity is 2 to 3 times the local ones. Each colony is in excess of 80k workers, where as the local one called “Thurbe Jenu” has a max of 30 to 40k. Its much more technical & complicated than this. Its better you visit the GKVK and have a one to one discussion.
By the way where are you from ? Where do you plan to set it up ? Be careful, there are no instruments to check whether the honey is genuine or fake. So any unbranded honey, every one thinks its fake.
More over unlike western countries, we indians do not consume honey as a mandatory item. Except for some religious festivities, So distribution and marketing is a hurdle.
Just try it out. Buy one kg honey bottle and leave it on your dining table. See the consumption pattern, Mind you it takes a lot of time to finish that one kg 
Regards
Murali
Still a few pics. to post from the KVK Baramati visit. These pertain to taking help of nature - Bees in this case. As we were told, the honey collected from bee farming (though having commercial value) is incidental to the other objective of improving farm yield by 30% to 40% by use of bees in the process of pollination.
I suppose the pics, posted in the thread : Simple techinque for improving yield is appropriate, however the mods, can move it to any other place if fits best.
(The batch intake for bee farming training at KVK is as I understand about 120, and it is fully booked)
Excerpts from KVK thread here :
In India beekeeping has been mainly forest based. Several natural plant species provide nectar and pollen to honey bees. Thus, the raw material for production of honey is available free from nature. Bee hives neither demand additional land space nor do they compete with agriculture or animal husbandry for any input. The beekeeper needs only to spare a few hours in a week to look after his
bee colonies. Beekeeping is therefore ideally suited to him as a part-time occupation. Beekeeping constitutes a resource of sustainable income generation to the rural and tribal farmers. It providesthem valuable nutrition in the form of honey, protein rich pollen and brood. Bee products also constitute important ingredients of folk and traditional medicine.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Baramati has started an apiculture project from June 2012 .The main purpose of project is to motivate farmers to take up Honey bees rearing & provide them bee hives . KVK also includes to start training program on bee keeping. The main role of Apiculture in agriculture is to enchance yield of crops upto 30%-40 % by increasing pollination.KVK now has 20 colonies of Apis
melifera & 5 colonies of Apis cerena which will not only act as a demonstration centre but also useful for hands on training to farmers.
Another source of news and information for members interested in Bee farming/Apiary business, (besides KVK) :
Central Bee Research Institute
Khadi and Village Industries Commission
1153, Ganeshkhind Road,
Opp. Agriculture College,
ShivajiNagar,
Pune 411 016
Phone - 020 - 25652819.
Email : E-mail- cbrti@pn3.vsnl.net.in
Thanks Zen. Excellent piece of info. Would you happen to know of any such training/bee suppliers in Hyderabad/AP?
Shiv
Hi Shiv,
I was surprised to note that one box of honey collected from bees is worth Rs. 2,800/- annually. Ofcourse it depends the area around the the farm where the bees could have access to collect honey. (Article is copied below)
I have attached two pdf’s of honey bee project which seem to be prima facie quite profitable.
You could check for more info. in your area regards bee farming from :
Andhra Pradesh Bee Keeper’s Association.
12, Rural training Centre, NIRD, Rajendra Nagar,
Hyderabad 500 003.
Tel. 6517 6949/93911
±±±±
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Vijayarai, Dist.West Godavari-534175 (AP)
±±±
IGNOU’s School of Agriculture is conducting the following course :
Certificate in Bee Keeping (CIB)
Minimum Duration: 6 Months
Maximum Duration: 2 Years
Course Fee: Rs. 1,500
Minimum Age: No bar
Maximum Age: No bar
ignou.ac.in/ignou/aboutignou … tail/130/2
±±±±
Eco Green Unit (Project Office and Training Cell)
No. 44, ‘Divine’, Sri Lakshminagar,
Ganapathy PO
Coimbatore-06
Tamilnadu
Tel. 0422 4376397,
Mobile : 9894422180, 9952585689, 9787028869
Or
“Sugandavanam”
Sethumadai,
Pollachi TK,
Coimbatore Dist,
Tamilnadu.
Pin - 642133.
PH : 04253 244269
Mobile : 94433 66374
±±±±±
Tiwana Bee Farm
G.T. Road, Doraha, Ludhiana -141421, Punjab - India
Phone: 91-1628-259553
Fax: 91-1628-258008
Mobile: 91-9814032440
Email: info@tiwanabeefarm.com
(Manufacturers of beekeeping equipment like honey processing plant, bee hives, honey extractors, smokers, protective clothing, pollen traps, grafting needles etc)
±±±±±±
KURNOOL:
A Guntur-based cooperative body has begun tapping the huge potential of Rayalaseema districts in honey-making business through its mobile bee-keeping activity.
Kuppam Srinivas, who organises the trade, says honey can be collected for six to nine months in Kurnool and Kadapa districts because of diverse cropping pattern as against only four months in Coastal Andhra.
He has been in the trade as a small-time honey collector for 27 years, but recently collaborated with a self-help group in Guntur for investment and manpower to expand his business.
The group owns 800 boxes and produces 15,000 kg honey worth Rs. 22.50 lakh in a year. Bees collect good amount of honey from sunflower, cucumber, horticulture crops, coriander, gingelly, neem and other oilseed crops. These diverse crops are cultivated in Kurnool and Kadapa districts in plenty.
Each box containing 5,000 bees costs Rs. 3,000 and gives a yield of 5 to 10 kg honey every month. The boxes are shifted from one place to other after surveying the cropped area. In case of sunflower, the season lasts a month.
Mr. Srinivas and his team arrived here with the boxes and deployed them in the sunflower fields on the outskirts of the city towards Ulchala. Bee-keeping gives employment to 10 people round the year and offers decent returns on investment.
Mr. Srinivas, who started honey collection as hobby in 1984, collected bees for two boxes and kept them on the premises of his house.
Though he did not attend any formal training in apiculture, Mr. Srinivas picked up certain nuances of the trade from his long experience.
He says north Indian companies were now eyeing Andhra Pradesh to start their operations and had conducted surveys recently.
He is willing to impart his skills to unemployed youth to make Andhra Pradesh a leading honey-producing state.
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Bee Keeping Project1.PDF (21.8 KB)
Bee Keeping Project2.PDF (10.5 KB)
While at KVK, it was mentioned that bees help to improve yeild by 30%. Just doing some reading on the subject. Attached pdf, which states that 1/3rd of the food we consume, come thru pollination of bees.
Another article from BBC, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8015136.stm which essentially sates the same.
A brief excerpt :
Quote
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” There is some debate about who actually made this remark. It is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but few scientists now believe this doomsday scenario will actually happen.
Nevertheless, the apocalyptic vision is an indication of how important honeybees are to the world’s agricultural economy. It is estimated a third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees. So it is no wonder the dramatic and unexplained decline in the population of these insects is worrying for everyone, not just the conservationists.
Fewer bees means less pollination, which results in less honey and fewer plants.
The consequences are damaging industries that depend on the insects’ survival and threaten to make the food we eat more expensive.
Unquote
Astounding really!!
PollinationAwareFactSheet.pdf (254 KB)
Thank you Zen. This is really a wonderful compilation of addresses/phone numbers which I had been trying to gather for more than a year.
There is one gentleman by the name of Chinnababu, who lives in krishna dist, whoc is very passionate about bee keeping and trains the people on the subject and provides the boxes
His contact info is 9490689300
Shiv
Report from DNA
Valsad farmer creates record in honey production, 2,200 kg in 1 year
Published: Wednesday, Oct 5, 2011, 18:42 IST
By Rishi Banerji | Place: Surat | Agency: DNA
Setting a unique record in Surat, a farmer in Valsad district has produced 2,200 kg of honey in a single year. Manmohan Patel, 30, has achieved this output from just 100 honeybee boxes set up in his field!
This is record production from any single farmer in the state, that too from such a limited number of honeybee boxes. Patel, a resident of Fanaswada village like many others in the district is engaged in apiculture (honey cultivation). According to him, he used Italian honeybees along with Indian breeds in his farm which helped in getting record production of honey.
This is the first time the production from his farm has been so high. "Timely care and attention helped in achieving this production. I did not expect such a good production in my farm.
While honey cultivation is seen as lucrative business in northern and southern India, situation is different in Gujarat. People here still don’t accept it as farming," said Patel, who holds a degree in agriculture.
Impressed by his hard work, the district administration of Valsad is organising guidance programmes for honeybee farmers. Atma Group of Valsad has asked him to provide training to people. At present, Patel is training more than 500 people in Dharampur, Kaprada, Vansda and Waghai. He is helped by National Bee Board, Khadi Gram Udyog (Pune) and Punjab State Bee Keepers Association.
KVIC Bee Keeping Training Centers
Accredited Specialised Training Centres for Bee Keeping
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, At & PO, Jonha-835103, Dist.Ranchi, (Jharkhand)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Gen. Mahadev Singh Road, Kanwali, Dehradun, (Uttranchal)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Kharar Road, Dist. Fatehgarh Sahib, Bassipathana-40412(Punjab)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, PO-Gandhi Nagar, Khetri-782403 (Assam)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, 18-A,Cave Street, Kanyakumari Dist.Nagarcoil-629001(TN)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Himalayan Farm, Bareli Road, Haldwani-263139,Nainital (Uttaranchal)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Pialitown, Dist. 24,Parganas -743387 (WB)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Panjokhara, Po.ViaKandhala(Muzaffarnagar-247775 Uttarpradesh)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Sakhigopal, Dist.Puri -752014(Orissa)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
ZillaK G. Sangh, Sarvodayagram, Muzaffarpur-842002(Bihar)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Mehsi, Maruabad, Mehsi, East Champaran-845426 (Bihar)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Vijayarai, Dist.West Godavari-534175 (AP)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Bhatyari, Po-Kanhal,Dist. Jammu-818132 (J&K)
Bee Keeping Extension Centre,
Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Amb, Dist.UNA (HP)
Do we have anyone doing beekeeping business in Maharashtra to guide new people. For new people it take time to find information and don’t whom to approach in Govt dept for loan, subsidy, etc.
Greeting from Shankar Industries- Bangalore-Karnataka-India.
Shankar industries is a SSI unit established during March 2016 under PMEGP Program of KVIC for manufacturing of Bee-keeping boxes and equipments.
Shankar industries is a proprietary concern established for manufacture of standard Bee keeping boxes and equipments as this is the most important factor for successful beekeeping. Training programs on beekeeping are also undertaken. Our products include Beehive box, Honey Extractor ( Both Apis cerena and Melifera), Smoker, Queen Cage, Queen Gate, Bee Veil, Travelling bee box, Nucleus bee box and all accessories for beekeeping.
For more details contact. Shankar @ 9880315577