Beekeeping: Creating employment opportunities for rural women

The Girl Power Project under the All India Institute of Local Self-Government is being implemented in ten districts of Jharkhand namely Dumka, Deoghar, Koderma, Hazairbagh, Khunti, Gumla, Ranchi, West Singhbum, East Singhbum, and Saraikela. The project’s aim is to establish a network of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and to serve as a platform for promoting women entrepreneurship. The main goal of the Girl Power Project is to create rural women entrepreneurs and women owned enterprises in order to provide them with opportunities for growth, financial stability, social status, and recognition.

Potential in
Bee-keeping

Diversification in apiculture offers additional potential and scope for production and marketing of other bee products such as pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bees wax, and bee venom in addition to honey. Furthermore, the sale of bee packages, as well as the rearing and sale of pedigree queen bees, provides a vast opportunity. Beekeeping does not demand a lot of land and labour making it favourable for women and emphasises greater participation of women. It can also provide income in rural areas for the underprivileged population, who do not own crops or farms. Further, it can also augment income and improve food security in areas with limited agricultural production. In addition, crops pollinated by bees are expected to produce higher yields and higher quality, often at no additional cost to the farmer.
The products produced from the practice of beekeeping are sold at a good price in the market. It includes Honey Rs 250-300 per kg, Bees Wax Rs 330 per kg and Pollens Rs 1200-2300 per kg. In Jharkhand, Karanj, Litchi, Eucalyptus, Bantulsi and Munga are some of the main flowers preferred by the honey bees for honey making. It is harvested four times a year. On an average, one honey box gives four kilograms of honey in one season, so in four seasons it gives 16 kg, which sells on an average rate of Rs 250 per kg. So, if women farmers keep ten boxes per family, they can easily earn up to Rs 40,000 in a year by just selling honey, besides other products are sold at much higher price. It can be summarised as:
Beekeeping provides financial, nutritional, and social benefits to low-income families without requiring land ownership or large capital investments,
It can be used as an extra source of income or main source of income for farmers in rural areas,
The villages have an abundance of nectar and pollen producing plants,
It does not require the acquisition of additional land,
No special education required,
Honey is a nonperishable commodity, so it is easy to store.

Capacity building of women entrepreneurs

There are a total of 15 training modules in the project. 11 of these are technical, while four are not. Organic farming, poultry, goat rearing, dairy, fish rearing, mushroom cultivation, lac production and value addition, mahua processing and value addition, bee keeping, bamboo craft, silk processing are among the subjects identified in the technical training module. Beekeeping training was conducted for creating women entrepreneurs by developing their entrepreneurial skills in making honey and related products.
To achieve this, training on Apiculture at Ramakrishna Mission, Ranchi, was held with 50 beneficiaries of Vishnugarh block of Hazaribagh district during July 12-14, 2022, with an objective to build their skills and technical knowledge on beekeeping. Apiculture or beekeeping is the practice of scientifically maintaining honeybee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans, as well as the collection and professional marketing of bee products including honey. Honeybees are a boon to mankind because beekeeping can be done for both pollination services and cherished products such as honey, beeswax, propolis, bee venom, and so on. Beekeeping is a low-investment, high yielding business which has emerged as a significant enabler of socio-economic growth of the rural masses. The demand for high-quality honey has increased over time due to its nutritional benefits. Expansion of beekeeping activities in villages will double farmers’ income, create jobs opportunities, ensure food security and bee conservation, and boost crop productivity and pollination.
Training on
bee-keeping under Girl Power Project
During the training on apiculture, trainer led the session with a discussion about bees and its different types, as well as related products such as honey, wax, and pollen. The beekeeping season, Sarguja, Litchi, Sarso, and Karanj, is the best time to keep bee-boxes for production and collection of honey as the productivity is highest. The trainer also discussed the members of the bee family, such as the queen bee, worker bee, and male bee, as well as how reproduction occurs and the different types of boxes used for bee rearing, such as the Italian and Indian boxes. The Italian box is larger than the Indian box and can hold 60000-100000 bees, whereas Indian box can hold up to 10000-60000 during the flowering season. Then, the trainer led the women beneficiaries through a practical demonstration in which he demonstrated how boxes are stored, as well as the precautions to be taken while placing bee boxes. The trainer then discussed various diseases that affect bees and bee hives, and pests that reduce productivity and destroy hives. He also informed trainees about preventative measures, symptoms and behavior after contracting any disease, and treatment. The trainer also showed videos of beekeeping as well as other trainings and accomplishments of other women entrepreneurs to motivate them. The trainer then demonstrated to the women beneficiaries how the honey is extracted from the hives, packaged, and marketed.

Outcome

The GPP aims to empower and up-lift rural women entrepreneurs. The project aims to create women entrepreneurs and promote social entrepreneurship in beekeeping business. Thus, the women entrepreneurs will enhance and uplift socio-economic status of their families besides earnings. The Project will further provide the marketing support needed for marketing of honey and other products which will help their business
to flourish.