Beekeepers dealt bitter blow
Honey yields from mustard in Tangail were dealt a blow this year due to unfavourable weather conditions, say cultivators.
Although half of the season has already passed, beekeepers have not been able to collect honey as per their expectations due to the bitter cold and dense fog since the time mustard flowers began blooming.
On the other hand, local beekeepers are deprived of fair prices -- with many selling the honey they produced last year at throwaway prices.
A large amount of honey, around 100 tonnes, collected from mustard and other flowers last year remain unsold, leaving honey cultivators in a tight spot.
Cultivators said where they sold per maund of honey for Tk 6,000 in 2018, they were unable to sell it for even Tk 4,000 last year.
During the season, cultivators get honey five times a year: from mustard flowers from the second week of November till the last week of January; guji til (oil seed), coriander and cumin fields from the last week of January to the first week of March; litchi gardens during March; from keora, kholisa, goran and bain in the Sundarbans during March-April; and sada til (oil seed) fields from the second week of April to the second week of June.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Tangail, mustard was cultivated on 41,000 hectares of land at 12 upazilas in the district this year.
Honey cultivators from different districts come to Tangail every year to set up their bee colonies in boxes beside the mustard fields.
Over 7,000 bee colonies were set up in the district during mustard season last year. The figure is below 5,000 this year, the cultivators said, based on their estimates.
Honey bees help pollination of crops and increase yields. Previously, mustard cultivators were reluctant to allow setting up bee colonies near their crop fields, fearing declining crop yields.
Mustard cultivators changed their decision after agriculture officials assured them that they would see around 20 percent increase in yields if bee colonies were set up near their fields, said the local DAE office.
Usually, cultivation of honey from mustard starts in mid-November every year. This year, it started a little late due to unfavourable weather, including cyclone Bulbul, said Afsar Ali, a honey producer in Sagardighi of Sakhipur upazila.
Later, bitter cold and dense fog hampered production when mustard flowers started to bloom. The bees do not leave the colonies in such weather conditions, Afsar said.
“I set up my 100 bee colonies in Parkhi area of Kalihati upazila this year and got only three maunds of honey in the last two weeks. During the same period last year, I got about 15 maunds,” he said.
“I had produced about 100 mounds of honey from the five seasons last year, including from mustard and litchi. Around 50 maunds are still unsold,” he added.
Aminur Rahman of Santosh in Tangail Sadar upazila, who set up his bee colonies at Katulee village, said 30 maunds of honey he produced last year are yet to be sold.
There are around 2,500 honey cultivators, including 500 to 600 commercial ones, in the country, said Dulal Hossain, a honey cultivator of Panch Terilla village in Bhuapur upazila as well as president of the honey producers’ association of greater Mymensingh.
Honey cultivators in the country produce around 3,000 tonnes of quality honey, with the highest amount -- 1,000 tonnes -- coming from mustard and litchi each, with the rest coming from other crops, Dulal said.
There is a huge demand for honey in the country, especially in the food processing and pharmaceutical industries, said honey cultivators.
Despite this, the number of honey cultivators in the country, including in six districts in greater Mymensingh, is declining due to various problems - including a lack of fair prices for honey, he said.
In Tangail district, there are around 100 cultivators, including 50 commercial ones, he said. This is down from 150 cultivators in 2018.
“The pollination of crops will be seriously hampered if the number of beekeepers is reduced,” he added.
Deputy director of the district DAE, Abdur Razzak said he was aware of declining honey production in the district due to the cold and foggy weather. “It is also true that a number of beekeepers have left the profession because they are not getting a fair price for the honey they produce,” he said.
The authorities concerned, including those who export honey, should think about the difficulties of the honey producers and arrange modern marketing facilities for this promising sector, he added.
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