Beekeeping is one of the oldest agri-allied industries in India. Besides honey, it includes the production of propolis, beeswax, bee venom, pollen, and royal jelly. Honeybees also present an uncommon opportunity for diversification in agriculture.
The honeybee also contributes to sustainable agriculture by increasing farm yield through pollination and helping in environment-friendly disease and pest management. Production of crops such as blueberry, strawberry, tomato, sunflower, apple, canola and pulses have increased in the US and Europe because of bee pollination.
According to the latest Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) report, the honeybee can be used as an effective tool for increasing production and income of farmers. Apis cerana was used in the past, but Apis mellifera, when introduced and domesticated, provides better pollination and yields going up to 40 to 50 kg honey per box. Various products, such as beeswax, bee venom, and royal jelly are also obtained.
At present, there are about one million colonies of honeybees in India and the National Commission on Agriculture has estimated that given the existing vegetational wealth, 150 million bee colonies can be sustained which would be capable of producing 1.5 lakh tonnes of honey. At the same time, this would generate employment for 15 million rural and tribal families besides phenomenal improvement in crop productivity and higher returns from unit area.
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