Nghe An farmers raise honey bees for export and earn billions

(Baonghean.vn) - Along with the development of the forest economy, many households in Nam Dan have invested in beekeeping for honey. This is a low-cost profession, but with high income.

Having been involved in beekeeping for honey for more than 5 years, Mr. Nguyen Van Son, owner of a bee farm in Khe Huong hamlet, Nam Loc commune, Nam Dan district, shared: The family started with 100 hives, then saw the effectiveness so expanded to 300 hives. Beekeeping is not difficult, just need to learn, gain experience right in the process of raising and know how to take advantage of raw materials from forest trees.

However, beekeepers must regularly check and observe the progress of the bee colony at each time to have appropriate care. The most difficult thing in beekeeping is how to keep the bee colony during the cold and rainy season to reproduce for the next crop.

Each hive has 5 beehives, the harvest time lasts from February to June of the lunar calendar. If well cared for, after one year, 1 colony can split into 5 to 6 colonies. Photo: Hong Suong

Thanks to learning from experience, understanding the rules of bee colony operation, especially finding suitable sources of trees and flowers for honey in each stage, Mr. Son has invested hundreds of millions of dong in renting vehicles and workers to transport migratory bee colonies to the South, so the bees are constantly growing and developing, helping him have a fairly stable source of income. The total revenue from the bee farm is approximately 3 billion dong each year, minus expenses, the net profit is more than 1 billion dong.

He also uses many technical measures to exploit royal jelly, a health care and beauty product for women. Up to now, his family's honey, royal jelly, and beeswax products are not only supplied to the domestic market but also exported to markets in Germany, Laos, and Thailand.

The honey beekeeping model of Mr. Nguyen Van Son's family in Khe Huong hamlet, Nam Loc commune (Nam Dan) brings in an income of 3 billion VND/year. Photo: Hong Suong

Currently in Nam Dan area, beekeeping for honey has developed widely, especially in 13 forested communes, many households have boldly invested in beekeeping for commercial purposes on a large scale.

According to the experience of the people, the characteristic of bees is that they reproduce themselves, because bees reproduce very quickly, 2 to 3 months to have a large number of worker bees. In the spring, the weather is warm, there are many flowers, so this is the main honey crop of the year, the harvest time lasts from February to June of the lunar calendar. If well cared for, after a year, 1 colony can split into 5 to 6 colonies.

Beekeeping requires only half the time and effort of farming, is less physically demanding, but requires the beekeeper to be skillful and diligent. Up to now, the whole district has expanded nearly 10,000 bee colonies, most of which are in the communes of Nam Hung, Nam Loc, Nam Thanh, Nam Nghia, and Van Dien. On average, each household keeps 20-30 beehives, each year collecting 150-200 liters of honey, worth about 50-70 million VND.

Honey currently costs about 200,000 - 250,000 VND/bottle. Photo: Hong Suong

Mr. Pham Ba Dat - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nam Dan district said: "In recent years, the honey beekeeping movement in the district has developed rapidly, bringing in large revenues. In the coming time, we will continue to promote and train people in science and technology to expand the honey beekeeping profession."

From a side job, with the acumen and dynamism of farmers, up to now, beekeeping in Nam Dan has become a stable income profession. Not only helping people to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, but also enhancing people's sense of responsibility for the work of protection and fire prevention, contributing to opening up a path of sustainable enrichment for many localities in the district.

Hong Suong