Beekeeping Business in India: A Business of All Seasons

Commencing a Beekeeping Business in India is one of the profitable business ideas in the current scenario. This blog will take you into a different space where you will gather knowledge about How to Start a Honey Bee Farming or Beekeeping Business in India. Initiating this form of business is not a big deal as you can easily start this business with less investment & mint huge profits beyond the room of your expectations.

Beekeeping Business in India is a simple business to begin as it is free from complexities and also it gives more advantage inside a limited capacity to focus time. Upliftment and raising of Honeybees are known as Apiculture. Keeping honey bees at a grand scale for a business purpose as a plan for success is diversifying in this progressive world. Apiculture is concerned with farming or is the segment of agribusiness. Honey Beekeeping Business in India demands less capital and workers with unbelievable care and a solid connection b/w the individual (beekeeper) and the honey bees. It is too challenging to keep honey bees as the business if you didn’t know much about them and the apiculture as honey bees are viewed as wild in nature. Without much of a range, one can discover about the apiculture technique and win more cash as a benefit with less effort.

Synopsis

1.      Beekeeping Business in India: A Business of All Seasons

2.      Honey Bee Cultivation in India

3.      Beekeeping Business in India: A Beginners Guide

4.      Species of Honey Bees in India

5.      History of Beekeeping Business in India

6.      Let’s have a look at the Bee Family

7.      Beekeeping Business in India: Equipment Required

8.      Other Equipment

9.      Advantages of Honey

10.  Types of Honey

11.  Beekeeping Business in India: How to Get Honey Bees?

12.  Purchasing Package Bees

13.  Beekeeping Business in India: Taking Hold of Wild Bees from the Branches of the Tree

14.  Purchasing Nucleus Hive

15.  Five Freedoms of Honey Bees that must be Taken Care of

16.  Beekeeping Business in India: Legal Formalities Involved

17.  Honey Beekeeping Training Centres in India

18.  To Wrap Up

Honey Bee Cultivation in India

• Honey bee cultivation in India is generally done by the general folks in the bumpy area.
• Nevertheless, these days, this honey bee business or beekeeping business in India is likewise begun in the fields by the community individuals to gain more cash applying fewer endeavours.
• In India, it is worked in numerous states like the U.P, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Southern Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, alongside Gujarat.
• Individuals are earning a ton of cash by maintaining honey bees, as it were.
• Since there is no requirement for any work around here, it is expanding step by step.
• Celebration of World Bee Day takes place every year on 20 May to increase awareness about the significance of honey bees. 
• In the past course of time, the time when farmers were not giving permission to any beekeeper to commence bee colonies near their land, but from last few years, farmers are proceeding ahead and personally contacting NBB or other beekeepers to give wings to a bee colony near their crop.
• Furthermore, farmers also manage to grant land to the beekeeper in order to establish their bee colony when flowers are about to bloom in the crops.

Beekeeping Business in India: A Beginners Guide

Apiculture or Beekeeping Business in India can be commenced in any season, but usually, honey bees prefer to wander and stay in warm weather, and that’s the main reason why spring season is assumed as the right season to begin this form of business as the flowering of plants also initiated during his period.

A beekeeper must initiate his venture early in the season. It indicates that he must start Honey Bee Farming at an appropriate time when honey bees will obtain complete nectar from the flowers. In case you start it too early when the bees don’t get flourishing flowers, you will reap no honey. Thus, starting a beekeeping business in India early in the season is the perfect success mantra.

A beekeeper will need Beekeeping Equipment along with honey bees for commencing his Apiary. Purchase good honey bees and initiate your journey with a Nucleus colony. At an initial level, you need to move ahead with the least colonies. We feel that two honey bee colonies will be more than enough. After acquiring experience, you may go for a commercial beekeeping business in India.

The beekeeper must inspect the Beehives at least once in a time frame of 7 to 10 days. You must ensure that keep things simple as you can and avoid making things complex in the starting phase. At last, watch the outcome and don’t anticipate a high yield of honey during the initial year. Now, you should keep practising as you had gained precious information till now from your first attempt and you must apply them on the second one.  You will surely get a better result next time if you make things fall in the right place.

Species of Honey bees in India

There are more than 20,000 varieties of species of bees in the entire world, but only 7 of them belong to the category of honeybees.

We are throwing light on only five major honeybees that are known for their commercial value in India.

The Rock Bee

These giant bees are more magnificent Himalayan subspecies discovered all over India in sub-mountainous areas. Rock bees are brutal as well as hard to nurture. They make a single comb (cells created from beeswax by bees) in an uncovered space about 6 feet tall and 3 feet deep. They provide around 36 Kg of honey per comb per year. 

The European or Italian Bee

Identical to Indian bees, European or Italian bees compose parallel combs. Furthermore, they are bigger in comparison to all other honeybees except the rock bees. They got imported from European nations (Italy). The average composition of honey per colony is about 25-40 kg every year.

The Little Bee

These bees create single vertical combs. They also create combs in the open of the dimension of palm in branches of supports, shrubberies, caverns, void cases, structures, and so on. They provide about half a kg of honey every year per hive. 

The Indian Hive Bee

They are generally viewed as the tamed species and do not develop a single comb. Alternatively, they create different parallel combs with a normal honey yield of 6 to 8 kg for each colony every year. In addition to this, these honey bees are bigger than the little bee. However, they are not bigger than European or Italian bee. In India and Asia, they are deemed as local bees.

Dammar Bee or Stingless Bee

The stingless bees are smaller in size in comparison with the real honey bees and have importance in the pollination of diverse food crops. They may get tamed, but the honey yield generated per hive every year is merely 100 gms.

Beekeepers can go ahead for domesticating any of the species mentioned above in their artificial hives. In India, the most commonly used and preferred species for commercial use are the Indian Bee as well as the Italian bee. Indian bee farmers used to tame these for capturing the high yield of Honey Composition and other cherished products such as beeswax, bee venom, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis or bee glue, etc. 

History of Beekeeping Business in India

Honey beekeeping Business in India has an old history due to the text of our ancient which has revealed that the first sweat examined by them was the honey, who lives in the mountain caves as well as forest. Our ancestor found bees hive for that heavenly gift, defined honey. It is then accompanied by the impoverished landless and unemployed folks of India and spread over with time. The method of beekeeping can differ from person to person and from sphere to sphere.

There are two techniques of Honey Beekeeping Business in India are-

• Traditional Honey Bee Farming
• Modern Honey bee farming     

Let’s have a Look at the Bee Family

Honeybees are social bees, and they live in colonies or hives that consists of three different types of adult bees. One colony entails thousands of worker bees, hundreds of drones, as well as a single queen.  

The worker bees are female bees, and they do not breed. These bees are known for all other activities like looking after the well-being of the queen and her eggs, constructing comb, rendering protection to the hive as well as honey, accumulating nectar, maintaining the cleanliness of the hive, and yielding honey.

The drones are known as the male bees in the colony. The core function of these male bees is to fertilize the virgin queen by the process of mating and die soon after winding up the mating part.

The queen bee is viewed as the only sexually enhanced female, and her central job is to lay drones (unfertilized eggs) as well as workers (fertilized eggs) for the colony.

All three types of bees are required for the survival of a colony.

Beekeeping Business in India: Equipment Required 

The equipment required in Bookkeeping Business in India are showcased below-

Hives

The hive is defined as the man-made structure utilized by beekeepers for retaining honey bees. Usually, it is made up of wood; nevertheless, it can also be made of polystyrene, plastic, or any other element. The standard and customary size for a deep hive body is around 19 7/8″ long, 16 1/4″ wide, as well as 9 5/8″ in height. A deep hive body becomes heavy when stuffed with bees, pollen, and honey. Therefore most of the beekeepers apply the super medium size for hive bodies.

Frames

The shape of the frame is rectangular. It hangs within a hive-like filing mode. The honey bees will create their comb within these frames. It is the right place to make honey, lay brood, as well as live their lives constantly preparing for winter. 

Protective Clothing 

Bee Suit

An extensive assortment of bee suits is available in the beekeepers market in a wide price range. At the time of dealing with honey bees, white or tan clothing is most suitable. Several colors are also decent, but honey bees react unfavourably to the soft materials, dark hues, and garments produced from animal fiber.

Bee veil 

Bee veil is the most crucial equipment for beekeepers. They wear it over the head to defend their face along with their neck from the stings of bees while procuring honey or scrutinising the hive. A beekeeper must wear a bee veil on a consistent basis to shield his face & neck from stings. Three fundamental types of veils are obtainable in the market. First are those that are properly open at the top to hang over a hat, second is hatless veils and third veils that constitute part of a honey bee suit.

Other Equipment

Gloves

Gloves are deemed as a necessary and reasonable tool for beekeeping. It guards your hands against bee stings. You can’t even envision touching the hive without wearing the glove. Thus, while buying gloves, you need to ensure that the gloves must be made of strong material.

Hive Tool 

A hive tool is an essential, keenly priced, as well as multipurpose tool that helps manage and examine apiaries. It is present in several variations as well as styles. It is considered the third most significant tool for the beekeepers in India after the beekeeping veil & bee smoker.

Shoes

Shoes are also an essential component of beekeeping. It is required to cover yourself adequately from top to bottom ere digging the hive. Therefore, the beekeeper needs to dress boots that should fit in the leg, comfortable enough to tuck in the bee suit, formed of firm material with solid soles.

Smoker

The bee smoker is an indispensable section of a beekeeper’s toolbox. In the absence of smoker, beekeepers would have to endure a lot more stings at the time of hive investigation. These composed smokers are utilised to calm bees when the beekeeper would have to work in the hive. The smoke generated by the smoker convinces honey bees that their hive is on flame. The honey bee’s typical reaction is to get set for a probable migration. They begin consuming honey; hence they will have food stores if their breach attempt is long. The large consumption of honey leaves the honey bees in moderately food farthest lethargies which leaves them motionless.

Queen Catcher

A queen catcher is a valuable and useful tool employed to segregate the queen for a while from the crowd. 

Feeders

A feeder is regarded as a vessel or apparatus utilised by beekeepers to furnish pollen, honey, or substitutes like a fusion of sugar and water to the bees producing honey in a colony. In those seasons when things either have stood sprouting or are standing by to bloom, your honey bees will need you to support them by magnifying their food supply.

Bee Brush 

Bee brushes are used to divide the bees from the honey frames. After emptying the frame, swing it to unstick the bulk of the bees and afterwards utilise the bee brush cautiously and brush over the balance of the honey bees from the frame.

Advantages of Honey

Honey is popularly known as of the oldest sweeteners on the divine earth. Most importantly, it has several health benefits as well as uses. Honey has attained the supreme status in Ayurveda and is categorized as power foods that must be in your kitchen right now.

The health benefits of this golden sweetener are mentioned below-      

• Honey has a cleaning property as it cleans blood and arteries
• Children should include honey in their daily diet regime as it is the best technique to boost their memory power from the early age
• Honey provides soothing relief during a throat infection
• It is useful in preventing cancer as well as heart disease
• Honey is useful in treating cough, colds, blood pressure, digestive problem, eye disorders etc
• Honey is also utilized in the cosmetic items
• A blend of fresh butter and pure honey close the door for fever
• It provides an abundance of energy to the body
• In addition to this, it helps in increasing athletic performance
• It is capable of reducing ulcers and helps in the treatment of other gastrointestinal disorders
• It carries anti-bacterial as well as anti-fungal properties

Types of Honey

As you are planning to commence Beekeeping Business in India, you should know about the types of honey in demand. There are more than 40 varied types of honey available with unique properties & a refreshing taste. Each type of honey has a wide range of flavonoid profiles that rely on the floral nectar source.

Few of the common and popular types of honey are depicted below-

Beekeeping Business in India: How to get Honey Bees?

Becoming a beekeeper without honey bees is not possible at all. So, what question comes to our mind is, where to get these bees to form a colony for the purpose of commercial beekeeping.   

Buying bees through different medium is the simplest as well as the most secure way to initiate an apiary for a new or beginning beekeeper.

The fundamental ways to get honey bees are explained below- 

Purchasing Package Bees 

You need to contact a local beekeeper in the town or beekeeping associations in your close surrounding in order to arrange a package of honey bees. The package will comprise a queen, numerous worker bees, and a feeder stuffed with sugar syrup. The honey bee provider will deliver you proper knowledge concerning the installation of the package honey bees into their brand-new home, as well as the introduction of the queen bee with the workers.  

Beekeeping Business in India: Taking hold of Wild Bees from the branches of the Tree 

Wild Bees can also be accumulated from those beehives present on the branches of the tree by cutting down the branch and calmly shaking it within a container. However, it seems to be very risky for beginners. Only experts can perform it, or under the guidelines of experts, it can be performed as well. There is a possibility that wild bees may get infected with some diseases and take away some genetic disorder. It will be an uphill task to recognize the queen bee among the crowd. Therefore, it will be preferable to purchase healthy as well as disease-free honey bees for extraordinary outcomes.

Purchasing Nucleus Hive 

Nucleus colonies are small-sized colonies acquired from giant honeybee colonies. It is normally half-size of the larger colony. The standard size of a nucleus hive is five frame nuc. You can also proceed ahead for a nucleus hive. The best choice for the beginner is to look for a local beekeeper that can leap forward for selling his nucleus colony of bees. Generally, a nuc includes four to five frames of combs along with baby bee and bees, as well as an actively laying queen. You need to only transfer the frames and bees from the nucleus colonies box into your hive.

Five Freedoms of Honey Bees that must be Taken Care of

In order to become a successful beekeeper, an individual must follow strict guidelines, and he should get considered to make sure that while focusing on one part of beekeeping, another segment should not be ignored.

As per the National Bee Board India, all the beekeepers must take care of five freedoms of Honey bees-

• Freedom concerning discomfort (proper Shelter for bees)
• Freedom from Hunger as well as Thirst (Proper arrangement of food and water for the bees)
• Freedom with respect to expressing normal behaviour (bees must be free for their normal behaviour or exercises)
• Freedom from injury, pain, as well as disease (bees must be given adequate medical care)
• Freedom from distress & fear (bees must attain love as well as understanding by the beekeepers)

Beekeeping Business in India: Legal Formalities Involved

1- Go ahead for attending the beekeeping courses organized by top institutes in the states of India before commencing a Beekeeping Business in India.

2- After acquiring Knowledge concerning beekeeping, you should apply for a loan to accumulate funds for carrying out your business activities.

3- You must be asked to produce the required Id as well as Address Proof.

4- While Applying for Loan, you must look for registering your Beekeeping Business in India.

5- You will have the need to get your beekeeping business registered as an Entity in India such as OPC, LLP, Partnership, Private Limited Company, etc.

6- For this purpose, you may proceed by taking the help of a CA firm, business registration website and online portal Ministry of Corporate Affairs online portal.

7- Register Your Beekeeping Business in India under the roof of MSME Udyog Aadhaar.

8- Also, you can register your business as a start-up anywhere In India.

9- Once you are done with the business registration and reaped loan for Beekeeping Business in India, you should commence your farm as well as harvest honey.

10- After harvesting honey, you should determine ways to sell it.

11- In order to jump for the sale part, you must come up with a unique brand name for the honey Product.

12-Furthermore, you need to obtain Trademark Registration in India.

13-Also, you should obtain FSSAI License in order to push your honey into the market for sale.

14- When you initiate selling your honey, you should file for Goods and Service Tax.

15- For that, you must have GST Registration for Beekeeping Business in India.

Honey Beekeeping Training Centres in India 

Given below are the names of some popular Honey Beekeeping Training Centres in India-

• Bharat Honeybee Centre Training Program (Located in Avinissery, Thrissur, Kerala) 
• Arya Gramodyog Sansthan, Delhi
• IGNOU is offering a Certification in Bee Keeping  
• Sahara Gramudyog Sansthan, Saharanpur (U.P)

To Wrap Up

Beekeeping business in India is one of the finest business ventures as it can be started with around Rs. 1- 1.5 lakh and you can mint unbelievable profits via this business. Later on, you can increase your budget to uplift and expand your business. Due to the various medicinal properties of honey, there is accelerating demand for honey, and thus, the progress of this business will be a sure shot thing. At Aatmnirbhar Sena, we are letting people know about Beekeeping Business in India, and we are here to extend guidance in starting this business as well.