Encourage beekeeping in Lanka

The writer has been following, with much interest, the contributions by various writers in relation to the proposal to abandon the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture, in Sri Lanka. This has been proposed largely with a view to saving the foreign exchange spent on imported chemicals and, hopefully, to increase the health and take-home income of farmers, as well.  The recent article by A. Hettiarachchi in The Island of 29 June 2021 noted some of the considerations which need to be taken into account.

The purpose of the present note, however, lies elsewhere. When the writer was the President of the Sri Lanka Bee Farmers’ Association (SLBFA), he was intrigued to learn that bees’ honey is imported from India, to meet the requirements for the preparations of local ayurvedic physicians. This was in addition to the bees’ honey imported from Australia and other countries for sale in supermarkets and other urban outlets. There is absolutely no reason for this country not to be self-sufficient in the production of bees’ honey. The Department of Agriculture should take the lead to organise this in a systematic manner.

In addition to the saving of foreign exchange expended in importing bees’ honey, it must be emphasized that beekeeping results in increased yields in the crops being pollinated. Canada is an example of a country which brings in (from the US) colonies of honey bees for pollination purposes when fruit orchards are in flower. When the flowering season is over, the bee colonies are trucked back to the US, and the firms, which supplied the colonies of bees, get paid their agreed fees, and benefit in addition, from the sale of the honey and other products their bees have produced.

Encouraging, in an organised manner, the keeping of honey bees (Apis indica or Apis cerana) by individuals or firms/plantations will not only result in a substitution for the importation of bees honey. It will increase the production of fruit and other crops and provide remunerative employment for carpenters, farmers’s families, etc. Ambitious individuals and firms can expand their activities to the production of other bee products such as pollen and royal jelly, which fetch high prices in the market. It will, also, provide much enjoyment and education when observing these amazing and highly organised creatures. 

Dr. ROHAN H WICKRAMASINGHE