With mountainous characteristics, Nam Dong district, Thua Thien Hue province has nearly 7.000 hectares of natural forests, under the forest canopy, there are many rare trees such as: Gleditsia, dandelion, virgin, schefflera, tetracera scandens... The biological characteristics of these plants if raising bees, domestic bee breeds (especially honey bees), are very convenient for bee colonies to develop and will give high honey reserves. Besides domestic bees (especially honey bees), the two most popular bee breeds are bees imported from Australia and Italy.
Introduction to beekeeping for honey
Beekeeping for honey is a relatively new profession for people in Thua Thien Hue province when it has only grown stronger in the past 3-4 years, but it has contributed significantly to increasing income and reducing poverty for many farmers. Recognizing the great potential for development, the Farmers Union of Nam Dong district has built a pilot model in 4 households, with 40 breeding bee colonies since 2015. With a harvest yield of 500kg of honey, and a selling price of about 120 million VND, people in the Nam Dong district of Thua Thien Hue province have gradually escaped from poverty and become rich thanks to beekeeping for honey.
From that initial success, in 2017, the Farmers' Union of Nam Dong district continued to expand to 8 farming households, with 80 herds, with an output of 800 kg of honey. Honey bees also add other precious products besides honey such as royal jelly, pollen, propolis, beeswax, and bee venom. These products are very valuable in disease prevention, cure, and the daily life of consumers.
Besides domestic bees (especially honey bees), the two most popular bee breeds are bees imported from Australia and Italy.
Currently, many people choose bee breeds imported from Australia for breeding. Bees imported from Australia produce more than twice as much honey as domestic bees; at the same time, the taste of Australian honey is also preferred, so it sells at a higher price than the honey of other bees.
Summer is the main beekeeping season, so honey is taken once a week. With 500 hives, each batch of honey yields nearly 2 tons. If the weather is favorable for plants to flower and bee colonies to grow well, every summer, beekeeping for 4 months will generate revenue of about 600 million VND. The places chosen by many Australian bee breeders are mountainous areas with economic forestation with trees such as acacia, melaleuca, and rubber...
In localities with many acacia and melaleuca forests such as Nam Dong district; along the La Son route; Loc Son, Xuan Loc, Loc Bon communes... of Phu Loc district; Binh Thanh, Binh Dien... In Huong Tra town, there are hundreds of farms and beekeeping farms for honey.
Bee varieties imported from Italy thrive in A Luoi district, a mountainous area of Huong Tra town. The most common form of beekeeping follows a farm or ranch model. Bee farms have 500 to 1.000 beehives, while camps also have 200 to 300 beehives.
Besides, the establishment of a company to organize the cultivation and export of honey also brings high efficiency. For example, Phuong Nam Honey Bee Limited Liability Company has raised up to 25 bee farms in Loc Bon commune (Phu Loc) and Binh Dien commune (Huong Tra). Each season, the Southern honey bee company collects about 200 tons of honey for export to the US, Canada, Japan... at the same time, creating jobs for hundreds of local workers.
In Thua Thien Hue, up to now, the whole province has had 1.420 bee colonies raised, and production reached 40-50 tons/per year. tấn/năm. Some households have boldly invested money to raise bees effectively… According to beekeepers, the investment in beekeeping has brought great economic benefits for the family itself. The introduction of foreign bees into the structure of the bee colonies has increased the income of beekeepers by 3-4 times. it has increased the income of beekeepers by 3-4 times.
In order to protect local specialties and avoid product abuse and counterfeiting, with the support of professional agencies, Nam Dong bee honey products have built a collective brand and are certified by Thua Thien Hue Department of Science and Technology.
On that basis, the District Farmers Union has developed regulations on brand management and protection with things to comply with for beekeepers. In the coming time, the Farmers Union of Nam Dong district will continue to supplement and amend the regulations on the management and use of collective trademarks, meeting the use of trademarks; improve product designs and packaging to meet customer requirements.
According to Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee, in recent years, the Farmers Union has actively cooperated with the locality in improving the quality of existing bee herds, developing more herds in potential areas such as Huong Thuy, Phu Loc, A Luoi; focusing on improving techniques for beekeepers. Societies are trained to become technicians, beekeepers are equipped with basic knowledge such as management, care for bee colonies, methods of creating queens, division of herds, how to prevent and treat diseases and harmful organisms, building some types of bee barrels, making supplementary food for bees, learning about beekeeping flowers, how to harvest, prepare and consume bee products.
In addition, the Farmers Union also creates conditions for members to share experiences, begin the service to help each other create queens, build nests, build herds, promptly supplement, and help each other overcome the problems of each family, at the end of the season help each other how to keep the herd, clean bee boxes, flower sources...
In addition, the Beekeeping Association of Thua Thien Hue province cooperated with Phuong Nam Bee Company to formulate a beekeeping project and solve the output for beekeeping products in the province, organize experimental farming and successfully replicate the model of foreign beekeeping. The initial pilot of 10 foreign bee colonies in Nam Dong and Binh Dien gave good results, yielding three to four times more honey than domestic bees.
Up to now, the whole province of Thua Thien Hue has more than 150 households with nearly 2.500 bee colonies in Binh Dien, Nam Dong, Phu Loc, Hue, Huong Thuy, and A Luoi; honey production reaches nearly 75 tons of honey per year. In addition to bringing economic efficiency to households, beekeeping also increases pollination, contributing to increased productivity and crop output.