Arunachal beekeeper Nabam Nigla is holding up a honeycomb filled with hundreds of bees crawling on his hands. Bees and its products are not only well known with high market value but also provide sustainable livelihoods to many smallholder farmers in remote areas.

Asian honeybees or Apis cerana to be precise are found in the Northeastern part of India especially Arunachal Pradesh. Asian honeybees are managed for honey production and are excellent pollinators of many crops including spice crops, fruits, nuts, oilseeds, cauliflower, okra, and onion. The honey produced by bees has high nutritional and therapeutic value; therefore, farmers in Arunachal Pradesh are being encouraged to take up beekeeping to ensure sustainable income.

According to Dr B Mohan Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Arunachal University of Studies (AUS), pollination in most parts of the world is under immense threat owning to anthropogenic factors, which cause pollination deficits. This deficit can only be controlled by enhancing efforts in beekeeping on a large scale. Up to a 30 percent increase in the productivity of field crops can be achieved by bee-supported pollination.

There has been increasing demand for honey in the domestic and international markets. Honey as a commodity offers a large potential with minimal investments. 

Nabam Nigla from Langper village in Arunachal Pradesh had no experience in beekeeping but had picked up this skill through a “Commercial Honey Production” training organised by the Itanagar Diocesan Empowerment Association (IDEA) under the Caritas India FARM programme in 2019. He started his small enterprise with three bee boxes of Honeybee colonies and beekeeping accessories. However, over time he started losing interest in beekeeping whereas the boxes were still functional.

IDEA under the Caritas India FARM programme conducted another beekeeping training in August 2022 for a group of farmers, who were trained in having natural bee colonies and the multiplication of such colonies. The initiative was taken for subsistence farmers who are keen to boost their income while raising crop yields through increased pollination.

“FARM interventions have motivated him to start over,” informed Ratan Lal Deka, Coordinator of the FARM programme. Nigla increased the number to thirty-six boxes by dividing the colonies and by collecting the colonies from nearby forest areas within a short span of one year.

“August to starting October is the peak swarming season for beekeeping and several local colonies can be captured which are more stable, strong and disease resistant than the ones procured from distant places,” says Nabam, a 52-year-old farmer.

As of date, he succeeded in harvesting 5 times in a year with 2-4 kgs of honey per harvest which he sells for Rs. 500/kg and earned Rs. 1,80,000.   

IDEA takes pride in promoting smallholders like Nigla who motivated another 13 smallholders to take up beekeeping as a livelihood option.