An Economic Analysis of Stationary Beekeeping in the Northern States of India

Abstract

Though apiculture was prevalent since time immemorial in India, its commercialization began only after the introduction of Apis mellifera. In today’s time, beekeeping has become an integral part of integrated farming system (IFS) models. Hence, an economic study was taken up with sixty IFS adoptee farmers of crop + dairy + beekeeping model for the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, with Punjab being one of the most potential states and Haryana falling in the category of potential states as per Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). The cost benefit analysis for Punjab and Haryana has been estimated as 2.46 and 2.06, respectively. The respective total honey production for Punjab and Haryana was found to be 6296.68 and 2956.62 kg from 304 and 143 beehives and their respective break-even point were also calculated as 1316.90 and 655.37 kg, indicating that the beekeeping is a highly profitable venture.