Chitwan District Sees 16.66% Decline in Honey Production

Chitwan. Honey production has decreased in the district this year. Honey production has decreased by 16.66 percent this year compared to last year.

According to Sujan Angai, chief of the Beekeeping Development Center Bhandara, 450 metric tons of honey have been produced this year. Last year, 540 metric tons of honey were produced. 17,500 hives of Melifera bees are being reared in the district. Honey production has decreased this year due to unseasonal rains.

He said, “Production of mustard and churee has decreased due to unseasonal rains.” He said that farmers who used to harvest honey up to three times in mustard have harvested honey at most twice this time. Similarly, honey used to be harvested up to five times in churee, but this time it has been harvested only three times. He informed that although the number of hives has increased now, the production has decreased.

Last year, 70 percent of beekeeping farmers used to harvest honey up to six times, but due to unseasonal rains, only 30 percent of farmers have extracted honey six times now. There are 450 commercial beekeeping farmers in the district. In the district, 80 percent of honey is produced especially from churee and mustard. He informed that twenty percent of honey is produced from rudilo, buckwheat, padke, litchi, etc.