About 120 km north west of State’s capital city of Guwahati is Bhutankhuti area along the Indo-Bhutan border in Baksa district under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). For any visitor to the greater area’s hamlets nestled amid nature’s vegetation what will be a common sight is that women in almost every household are engaged in beekeeping. Thanks to the district administration and the Agriculture Department, beekeeping has become a culture here thereby producing success stories like the local brand “Khamri Honey”. In 2021, Salt Range Food Pvt Ltd. exported 50 kg of Baksa honey to Dubai under the brand name “Mustard Honey”.
Besides the pro-active district administration, the district is fortuitous that it is inhabited by various tribes’ who are traditionally skilled in collecting wild honey and practise beekeeping at their homes. The greater Bhutankhuti area has a mixed population of Gorkha (Nepali), Bodo, Adivasi and Assamese speaking people. Besides agriculture, almost every household in the area is engaged in horticulture.
No wonder, honey is the product which Baksa district has opted for under the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme.
Yagni Neopani (55), a resident of Bhutankhuti’s Santipur area, is a well-known beekeeper. He spells the reason for why the efforts are paying dividends. “Beekeeping and honey production in the traditional ways are common among people in the area. Wild honey is harvested from December to May. In recent years, many individuals, mostly women, have received training from Government agencies. Honey produced in this area is best in the State because it is organic. Besides, wildflowers in surrounding hills are the source for bees to produce raw honey,” said Neopani.
“We are part of the Cerena Honey Processing and Producer Group. Under it, we have 72 members. In mid-2020, we were trained by IIE, Guwahati on different aspects of beekeeping and honey processing. Our district agriculture office had provided us with two bee boxes. We also receive support from other government agencies on beekeeping culture from time-to-time,” Berena Tete (56), president of the Cerena HPP Group told Asom Barta.
Tete said that each household on an average earns ₹30,000 annually from this activity. “I have eight bee boxes. The honey we produce is organic and commands a good price. Last year, I earned ₹35,000. Vendors come to our house to collect the processed honey in bottles.”
Under the Krishok Vardhan project, which is meant to enhance the income of small and marginal farmers through establishment of value addition facilities, bee keeping is one of the four sub projects that has the attention of the district administration and the Agriculture Department, which is the nodal agency in implementation of the project.
The project has received accolades in the form of the Chief Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration (Karmashree Award) which was conferred on District Commissioner Masanda Magdalin Pertin and group members Banti Talukdar (ACS) and Dulal Das (District Agriculture Officer) on August 5.
The District Commissioner has a detailed plan in place to scale up honey production.
“At present, the total production of honey in Baksa district is 46 MT. We are targeting 100 MT production by 2026. Three honey processing units will be made fully functional in 2023 under Aspirational District Programme. We are targeting 3,000 families for rearing honey. We have set our sights on exports to Europe where we are sensing a huge potential,” Pertin told this reporter.
Das attributes the success of the project to promotional activities. “There have been both qualitative and quantitative improvement in bee keeping and honey processing in the last two years. We have achieved our goal to provide livelihood to rural women through beekeeping,” said Das.
Agriculture Development Officer of Dhamdhama Circle, Dhriti Ranjan Roy, also credits the Krishok Vardhan project for the success achieved hitherto.
Narrating another success story, Dipsikha Goswami, the Agriculture Development Officer of Subankhata Circle, said that the Mahamaya Village Organisation, a group of women coming from far flung border areas of Indo–Bhutan foothills, without having any exposure to facilities like communication and market, is producing 500 kg of honey each year since 2021 with support from Krishok Vardhan project.
Bishnupur–Khamrigaon village, about eight km east of Mushalpur, the district headquarters of Baksa, has seen a spurt in beekeeping among villagers in recent years. It is from here that Khamri has emerged thanks to the efforts of Khanin Madahi, the CEO of Baksa Agro Producer Company Limited.
The BAPC CEO said that he wants to make their village into a centre of honey production by introducing bee-keeping in every family and generating livelihood for all.
