On the outskirts of Delhi, where there are scattered green fields, rows of wooden bee boxes hum with life. The faint sweetness of nectar mingles with the dust, while a gentle breeze carries the soft buzz of thousands of wings. Amid this symphony, Parful Arya moves carefully, clad in a protective suit, gloves shielding his hands, eyes scanning the hives as ever so often, a bee brushes past him.
Arya gave up his stable job in 2016 to become a beekeeper. Since then he has learned everything from bee behaviour to hive care and now manages about 1,000 hives. He is also one of the leaders speaking up for India’s small beekeepers.
“I have learned every facet of beekeeping; from the types of bees to flowering periods, and how each step of the process affects the colony,” Arya explains. “It’s a technical process because you are essentially understanding a living system. Bees are not just honey producers; they are pollinators. They create the food we eat. Without bees, humans could face a food crisis in just a few years.”
The beekeepers use wooden boxes to house their hives. Most use a species called Apis mellifera - originally from Europe - because these bees give more honey, do well in boxes, and can be migrated easily.
From one such box, you can get about 30 kg of honey in 5-6 months. During flowering seasons, bees are let out in the fields (so they gather nectar) and return to thr boxes by evening. Once the flowering in a particular area is finished, the boxes are moved, sometimes 250–400 km, to other regions of new flowering crops.
Beekeepers migrate their hives across the NCR to Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, targeting regions with longer flowering periods and lower pollution. Each migration lasts about 1.5 months, starting with mustard fields in mid-November. Later, the bees are moved to eucalyptus, ajwain, or other flowering crop which goes on until the end of March.
“Beekeeping depends a lot on timing,” says Arya. “When summer comes, plants flower less — so bees get less nectar and produce less honey. Meanwhile, as Delhi expands and natural green land is lost to buildings, there’s less space for hives making beekeeping harder.”
Ramesh Kumar, another young beekeeper from the Madhukranti Bee Farmers Welfare Society, Charkhi Dadri, Haryana says the work has transformed his life. “I never thought I could leave my old job and work with bees,” he says, standing beside a row of hives glistening in the afternoon sun. “It’s hard work, but when you see the bees return loaded with nectar, you feel part of something bigger. .”
Getting honey out of the hives and selling it comes with its own problems. In India, raw honey naturally becomes solid (crystallises) within about 2 days. But many customers want liquid honey — so selling crystallised honey becomes difficult.
Arya’s experience reflects the realities of Indian beekeeping, but researchers like Toshan Kumar, an IIT Bombay student-turned bee researcher, highlights broader systemic challenges.
“The bees aren’t the problem,” he says. “The real issues are the lack of equipment, unfair pricing, and poor market access.”
India makes many types of honey, but mustard honey is the most common about 80% of the total. Tulsi and ajwain make up most of the rest.
Apis mellifera bees, used in commercial beekeeping, produce 30–40 kg of honey per hive and sell for around ₹120/kg.
Native Apis cerana bees in the hills make much less — about 9–10 kg a year, so their honey is costlier at ₹700–800/kg.
While In South India, stingless bees produce only about 300 g a year but are easier to handle.
Small beekeepers often can’t afford modern tools to track hive health. “We need simple devices to check temperature, weight, even sound,” Kumar explains.The spread of new diseases over the past couple of years has made things harder for beekeepers.
Prices are another major challenge. Exporters control the rates — often ₹80–100/kg — and sometimes they stop buying entirely. Fake honey is also a problem: some sellers mix it with cheap sugar syrup from China, which still passes old testing standards implemented by the FSSAI. Newer tests exist, but they aren’t widely used yet.
Many Indians are unaware of the honey industry and its diversity. Out of 26 known varieties, Arya produces five: mustard, eucalyptus, shisham, multi-floral (forest), acacia (Rajasthan), and ajwain honey. Consumers often buy the cheapest honey without knowing the unique benefits of each type. For instance, ajwain honey can aid weight reduction, while mustard honey is especially beneficial for arthritis.
Through Madhukranti, Arya and his team support around 10,000 beekeepers across 11 states, providing training, advocacy, and guidance under the leadership of their society presidents.
Beekeeping is a delicate balancing act. After the mustard season, bees require feeding of sugar for eight to nine months to survive reduced flowering periods, while rain and extreme heat pose constant threats.
Despite the challenges, both Arya and Kumar remain optimistic. “Beekeeping is a viable business for anyone willing to learn the craft and market their honey directly,” Arya says. “Urban consumers are curious and willing to pay for quality honey.”
Bees, their caretakers, and the researchers who study them share a single purpose: protecting an invisible workforce that not only produces honey but sustains India’s entire food system. In the quiet hum of the apiary, their work is as sweet as the honey it yields.