Mountain communities of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) have a rich tradition of beekeeping and honey hunting with indigenous honeybee Apis cerana. Honey harvested from these bees is an important source of cash income for households in the mountain areas.
The region is rich in floral resources and offers great potential for the production of high quality Apis cerana (Asiatic honeybee) honey. Honey collected from a variety of plant sources in the mountain/hill areas is in great demand, and good quality Apis cerana honey fetches a much higher price than Apis mellifera (European honeybee) honey.
ICIMOD, in collaboration with its national partner organizations in the regional member countries including government and non-government organizations, has been working for the development of Apis cerana beekeeping to improve the livelihoods of mountain people. These interventions have helped people enhance their cash income in pilot areas. However, present constraints faced by beekeepers, and future scope for producing natural and pure honey for expanding markets within and outside HKH countries are yet to be understood.
Hence, ICIMOD coordinated a series of studies to gain a better understanding of the entire structure of honey value chain, especially Apis cerana honey, in all potential Apis cerana beekeeping districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, southern Bhutan, and the Kalash valley of Chitral district in Pakistan. Primary data was collected by interviewing households engaged in Apis cerana beekeeping and honey traders in each country using pre-tested structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. This was supplemented with secondary data gathered from different published and unpublished sources.
This document presents the findings of the studies conducted on value chain analyses of Apis cerana honey in CHT, southern Bhutan, and the Kalash valley, Chitral.