ALAPPUZHA: The first honey museum in the country will soon come up at Kallimel Beekeeping Centre at Thazhakkara panchayat in Mavelikkara. M S Arunkumar MLA said the state government has accorded sanction to set up the museum as part of the development of the beekeeping centre, which was established in 2018. “The centre has also received permission to set up a lab for farmers to test the quality of honey, and the construction work will begin within two months,” Arunkumar said.
The Horticorp constructed the centre in the three acres of land allotted by the Thazhakara panchayat as the country’s first beekeeping park, which has a turnover to Rs 25,000 per day. “More than 50,000 kg of honey has been collected from farmers, processed and sold as ‘Amrit Honey’ in this period. The project began with the reconstruction of the building at a cost of Rs 1 crore to create awareness about the benefits of bees. Later, more than Rs 2 crore was spent on the development activities of the centre in various phases,” the MLA said.
The centre operates in three main ways: raising bees to produce honey, collecting honey from farmers, scientifically processing it and marketing it, and providing training to farmers. “The beekeeping centre has about 200 beehives. Small bees and Indian bees are mainly bred in it. Two tonnes of honey are produced from these alone every year,” said Sunil B, regional manager Horticorp.
The centre ensures fair prices for farmers by directly procuring the honey produced by them at the price fixed by the government. The procured honey is scientifically processed, and its quality is ensured before it is sold at a low price under the brand name. Amrit Honey is available at quantities as low as 50 grams. One kg of honey costs Rs 380, while 5 kg pack can be purchased from the outlet at Rs 1,375. Value-added products are made from honey, including flavoured honey of various fruit varieties, using infusion technology.
The centre is also giving support to the farmers. Those who successfully complete the training are provided with beehives and related equipment at a 40 per cent subsidy through various schemes of the Central and state governments. In addition, 30 farmers are being provided training and guidance. More than 1,500 farmers in the state have been trained over seven years, and over 10,000 farmers have been given subsidies to build bee colonies, they said.