Beyond Honey: How Bee Products Can Boost Rural Economies

World Bee Day is observed on 20 May each year to draw attention to the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy. It provides an opportunity for governments, civil society organisations, and concerned communities to promote actions that protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats and contribute to meeting the UN’s sustainable development goals.

Honeybees and other pollinators contribute significantly to enabling global food production and halting the further loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems. Viewed in economic terms, the value of services such as crop pollination, carbon sequestration, and water purification is estimated at USD 125–140 trillion, even more than the global GDP (USD 105 trillion in 2023). Yet, pollination and other ecosystem services are generally undervalued.

Bee species in the HKH, their roles, and challenges

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is one of the world’s richest regions in terms of honeybee species diversity. Six of the nine known species of honeybee worldwide are found in the region; five of these – the Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Apis laboriosa, Apis cerana, and Apis andreniformis– are indigenous to the HKH. Bees – in particular the honeybee – benefit numerous mountain households and agriculture in the region. By providing pollination services, honeybees enhance crop productivity, which sustain farm economies and improve food security. More pollination leads to greater fruit/seed setting and regeneration, underscoring the vital role of honeybees in environmental protection and biodiversity.

Multiple studies estimate that 75 per cent of Nepal’s food crops and nearly 90 per cent of its wild flowering plants depend on animal pollination. However, pollinators’ population is on the decline worldwide. Among the key factors for their decline in the HKH are climate change and loss in habitats. The reduced pollination that ensues has already had alarming economic consequences. One study found that the annual loss from reduced pollination across all agricultural commodities for Nepal amounted to as much as USD 250 dollars (over NPR 33,000) per capita.

Honey’s remarkable benefits

Honeybees produce honey mainly from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants, which they collect and transform in honeycombs. Varied types of honey and a range of other bee products – honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, bee brood, propolis, and bee venom – are produced in the HKH, thanks to the richness of honeybee species and the region’s floral diversity.

The application of honey and other bee products as medicine, called apitherapy, is gaining scientific recognition. Honey is rich in carbohydrates and contains numerous trace elements, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes. Many scientific publications state that honey has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-fungal qualities. It is effective in treating ulcers, sores, and surface infections from burns and wounds. It increases one’s appetite, helps control gastritis, and offers relief from allergies, sinusitis, arthritis, and asthma.

Nepal produces many kinds of honey, such as high-altitude Himalayan honey, indigenous hive bee honey, unifloral honey, and honeydew honey. These can be sold as specialised products, and have considerable income- and employment-generating potential; yet, honey production and beekeeping do not attract young entrepreneurs. Further, very little effort is being made to harness the potential of bee products other than honey.

Harnessing the potential of honeybee products for economic resilience

Given the importance of honeybee products and the crucial role honeybees play in improving crop productivity and maintaining biodiversity, efforts are needed to promote honeybee species and add value to bee products. A few policy suggestions follow.

One, there is the need to establish and operationalise a business model that focuses on the diversification of bee products and a better positioning of value-added products in domestic and international markets via branding, labelling, advertisements, and quality control. Two, there is a need to build trust among value chain actors. At present, beekeepers find it difficult to sell their honey, end consumers lack trust in its quality, and honey suppliers/traders and distributors face challenges in fetching a good value for the produce.

To harness opportunities, we need to strengthen supply chain linkages with honey hunters and beekeepers by ensuring timely delivery of produce. Incentivising start-ups and small businesses to add value to bee products, reducing production costs, and generating more demand for Nepali honey and other value-added bee products in domestic and international markets is essential.

The increased demand for honey and other value-added bee products will motivate farmers/beekeepers to expand their beekeeping operations, while stronger supply chain linkages will lead to collaboration and trust among suppliers and buyers, contributing to gains all around. Young entrepreneurs will be encouraged to replicate this model in different provinces of Nepal. All this would benefit innumerable rural communities, in terms of both income and employment, across Nepal.

Surendra Raj Joshi (surendra.joshi@icimod.org) is Coordinator of ICIMOD’s HI–REAP programme, and specializes in honeybee and livelihood diversification.

Beyond Honey: How Bee Products Can Boost Rural Economies

Bee species in the HKH, their roles, and challenges

Honey’s remarkable benefits

Harnessing the potential of honeybee products for economic resilience

Related publications

Table of Contents

Author

Share

Top stories from the region

Related posts