This beekeeper from Punjab is a beacon of hope for low land holders

The young apiarist from Punjab has over 220 beehives but not a single inch of land, and yet he is a motivational force for many to adopt apiculture as a source of living.

New Delhi: What began as a hobby has now become a thriving business for Pawadeep Singh, 29, a resident of Jaithuwal village, near Amritsar. The young apiarist has over 220 beehives but not a single inch of land, and yet he is a motivational force for many to adopt apiculture as a source of living.

Pawandeep Singh moves from one state to another to find a suitable place in the vicinity of fields where he sets up the beehive boxes to produce honey with peculiar aroma flavours and tastes.

He begins his journey in January from Rewari in Haryana due to mustard seasons and then he is back to Amritsar while the eucalyptus flowers are blossoming. In March, he takes his beehive boxes to Pathankot near the litchi orchards and then he enters the neighboring Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory for multi flower nectar including apple, etc.

In June, he is back to Haryana to set up beehive boxes near the cotton fields. Then there is time to move to Rajasthan where Beri flowers are in full bloom at Nohar Bahadra village. In October, he moves to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh for caraway flower honey.  And this is how he harvests honey and money around the year. 

The honey from mustard flowers would have a different taste and quality as it freezes quickly in winters. Similarly, he said the honey from litchi flowers would have a litchi flavor while the honey from caraway flowers would have a peculiar caraway aroma. The taste, color, and texture of honey vary from flower sources. 

Pawandeep, a postgraduate, didn’t get any job so he thought of trying beekeeping but soon he adopted it as a full-fledged profession. 

“When I didn’t get a job after post-graduation, I made my mind to go abroad but then again there were certain issues due to which I couldn’t go so I thought to help my father in his beekeeping business which is now my full-time profession,” said Pawandeep Singh. 

He said his father was in Madhya Pradesh where he fell ill due to Dengue and he had to go there to take care of him. “Initially I  didn’t like beekeeping but now I think there is no other profession like this one,” he said. 

He said the beauty of apiculture was that one didn’t require big fields to harvest honey, the beehive boxes could be placed on roadsides, in the vicinity of fields, banks of rivers, on hills and so on. 

“I don’t have any land but  I put up my beehives in the vicinity of fields, maybe on roadsides, riverbanks, hills and the fields in whose vicinity I put my beehives boxes gives 30 to 35 percent more yield due to pollination by the bees,” he said. 

He said there were various government schemes which the beekeepers could avail for taking various benefits and growing their business. Giving example, he said the National Horticulture Mission gives 40 to 50 percent subsidy on beekeeping and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earmarked Rs 500 crore for the promotion of apiculture. 

However, the young honey producer suggests that the farmers shouldn’t depend on any middlemen for marketing and instead they should be doing direct marketing. “I have no middlemen, from farm to customers end I do everything by myself, besides I have given a brand name to my honey,” he stated.