BENGALURU: The pandemic has brought a paradigm shift with people shifting to other professions. Agriculture and horticulture have emerged as the top choices of those who battled out of the pandemic misery. The sweet thing is that honey production is now gaining centre stage.
Farmers see the profession of beekeeping to double their profits as the demand for honey has soared among consumers. While the honey production has amplified in the state, and especially in areas around Bengaluru, there is a cause of worry among consumers about good quality honey. With an assortment of brands, local branded bottles are also seen in shelves. Although sales have surged through word of mouth, direct to home, but the maximum is online. To address perils of adulterated honey, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research- Indian Institute for Horticulture Research (ICAR- IIHR) is setting up two honey testing laboratories at Bengaluru and Tumakuru.
Scientists from the institute said the labs will help farmers and consumers confirm the purity and quality of the honey. “The labs will benefit the farmers as with they will be able to get better deals with the quality certificates. The process of acquiring it will also be faster, as the labs will be just round the corner. The labs are also being backed by National Honey Board,” said a scientist.
Dr SK Singh, director, ICAR- IIHR told The New Sunday Express that honey business is booming, just like mushrooms. There is a huge market for organic and special honey which is gaining importance.
IIHR researchers said that there has been an increase in 20-30 per cent of the farmers taking up apiary to bolster their income. To make the business more viable, local bee species are reared instead of the wild ones
“Bees are the best pollinators. Farmers are rearing them and using them for honey production. Some farmers have also tied up directly with agencies or stores for sale. There is a jump in demand for monofloral honey. Recently, there has been a trend in market for honey sourced from the Sunderbans and from Araku Valley. However, there is a question over quality as monofloral honey is expensive and only a limited amount can be derived. So quality certification is a must,” researchers said.
“It is difficult for a layman to distinguish between pure and adulterated honey. It is a myth that the colour give away the purity of honey. Dark coloured honey is usually monofloral. Some believe that crystalisation of honey is an indication of poor quality, which is untrue. It could be due to seasons and the source flower. This has been observed in the cold hilly regions. Cases of sugar in honey are on the rise. Before the launch of the two institutes, the scientists are working on the data base of all substances that could be added in honey, so that test results are faster and accurate,” said ICAR-IIHR officials.
“The climate in areas around Bengaluru, and along the Western Ghats and even coastal areas is suitable for apiary, which is what attracts farmers. Although the Coorg region is known for honey, areas around Mysuru, Chikkaballapur, outskirts of Bengaluru are also picking up in honey production,” IIHR officials said.