Srinagar: For the last one-month, beekeeper Ishtiyaq Ahmad Bhat is camping in Rajasthan along with his 200 colonies of bees.
This has been his routine for 35 year old from Pattan ever since he started beekeeping after giving up his job as a courier boy.
Bhat is not alone. Around 12 beekeepers too have moved to Rajasthan to harvest honey for the winter season.
“Our honey bees won’t sustain the harsh winters of Kashmir. In relatively warmer Rajasthan, our bee mortality rate is zero. Plus we also earn good profits by migrating to other parts of the country. I almost harvest more than 200 kilograms of honey during winter,” Bhat said.
With the onset of winter, scores of the beekeepers from the valley migrate to warmer places like Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Jammu with their colonies to harvest honey.
Starting in December, the beekeepers camp in different parts before returning home in March-April.
“Beekeeping is a full-fledged profession. Only thing is that the valley’s harsh winters play a spoilsport. Now many farmers go to warmer places to keep business afloat,” Bhat said.
Beekeeping is becoming immensely popular in Kashmir with youth investing heavily in the sector. In 2020, Kashmir produced more than 7,200 quintals of honey which included 2015 quintals from just the Anantnag district. Srinagar followed with 1,415 quintals.
The government has set a target of seven lakh bee colonies in Kashmir to boost beekeeping.
This migration is also opening avenues of business for the beekeepers of Kashmir in rest of the India.
“Kashmir’s honey is famous across the country. We get many customers in Rajasthan, Gujarat, New Delhi, and Punjab for Kashmir’s acacia honey. Even, we sell this honey through e-commerce platforms, which dispatch it to other parts of the country,” said Bilal Ahmad Khan, a beekeeper from Sopore.
Director Agriculture Chaudhary Mohammad Iqbal told The Kashmir Monitor that the department was providing various facilities to the beekeepers migrating to various states of India.
“It is our responsibility to take care of beekeepers of Kashmir both in the valley and outside. We have realized that the migration of beekeepers is beneficial for the farmers of Rajasthan as well. Their mustard production has grown by 40-45 percent due to the pollination by the honey bees. We have deputed our teams so that their honey is procured and they receive the amount on time,” he said.
