Punjab man opts for beekeeping

A 38-year-old entrepreneur from Punjab, who ventured into beekeeping, has shown that alternatives to traditional farming too can bring in sweet success.

Kanwardeep Singh of Barundi village in Ludhiana district has become a source of inspiration for others.

After completing his graduation, Singh took to beekeeping and now he is heading a flourishing enterprise that is bringing in sweet earnings.

A month ago, he was honoured by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh at an Agri Conclave held here.

He said the Horticulture Department has provided him with a subsidy of Rs 4 lakh for further expansion of the honey business.

Singh has recently introduced a new product in the packing of Rs five only and he claims that it is now in huge demand among the people of nearby areas.

Sharing his story from being just a small beekeeper to now having a flourishing business, he said his family had just two-acres of land for the farming and it was not possible for him to help the entire family with traditional farming.

Then he went ahead venturing into beekeeping and got training from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana.

"Initially, I started the business with 30 beehive boxes (20,000 bees per box) and now after forming a self-help group under ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Agency) project, I have 2,600 beehive boxes and 11 people, including three women, work with me as colleagues," Singh said.

He said the honey produced by the bees during different seasons and by those that feed on different flowers looks and tastes different.

"Flavours, including natural, mango, orange, litchi, cardamom, vanilla, have a huge demand among the people. Besides, mustard, coriander, and others too are in demand," he disclosed.

Singh claimed that the people in the country have wrong perception about frozen honey.

"The mustard honey, for instance, freezes over. Most people think in our country that frozen honey is not of good quality," he said.