A bee-keeper places a honey box at a litchi orchard in Mehsi. Picture by Ajit Kumar Verma

Around 7,000 honey boxes in the litchi orchards of Mehsi generate at least 350 tonnes of nectar in just a fortnight of the flowering season. Farmers in the region, however, stress that with the government help, the season can be extended throughout the year in and around East Champaran.

Mehsi, one of the few important places known for litchi farming, is also known for the rare litchi honey prepared by bees from the flowers in the crop season. The season continues for a fortnight, as the bees stop coming for the pollen once the tiny litchi seeds appear. This year, the litchi honey produced from the honey boxes (where the bees store the pollen) is expected to generate at least Rs 3.5 crore for bee-keepers from East Champaran as well as the bordering districts like Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and Samastipur.

According to government data, of 15,000 tonnes of litchis grown in East Champaran, 11,000 hectares are in Mehsi alone. Amar, a progressive litchi farmer in Mehsi block, said each bee preserved inside a box flies at least 10 times a day to collect pollen from the litchi flowers. “At 50kg of honey produced from each box in a fortnight, the expected yield of litchi honey, a direct source of naturally derived sucrose, is around 350 tonnes in the present harvesting season,” added Amar.

He told The Telegraph: “Collection of pollen by the bees through pollination improves the quality and quantity of the produce besides allowing farmers to get abundant honey, which is nothing more than a by-product. If the trade of bee rearing is promoted, huge stock of honey could be collected throughout the year from the flowers of mustard, Indian beech (karanj), neem, blackberries and fennel seeds (saunf), as bees also collect pollen from there.”

Even if unprocessed honey is sold at Rs 100 per kg, it would yield at least Rs 3.5 crore, Amar said, adding that once the raw product is procured by agents of popular ayurvedic pharmaceutical companies and processed, it is sold under a brand name at three times the amount the bee-keepers sell it.

Neeraj Kumar, a honey scientist at Rajendra Agriculture University, Pusa, Samastipur, said the honey produced from litchi flowers is more in demand in foreign countries than in India.

“If any entrepreneur starts agro-based trade for the production of honey by placing at least 100 boxes for bee keeping, it would create employment opportunity for at least eight persons,” Neeraj told The Telegraph.

Amar said for the spread of honey trade, litchi farming needs to be promoted through government and non-government organisations. However, banks have failed to assist the development of rural economy in East Champaran, he added.

He said considering the extensive litchi farming in the district, mainly in Mehsi, bee-keeping should be given the status of agro-industry. “Once honey-processing units are started on a large scale, the state government should also give a brand name to the litchi honey produced in Bihar,” said Amar.