Paradise for beekeeping
Ben En National Park is located in Thanh Hoa province, famous for its rich ecosystem, diverse vegetation and fresh environment. This is also a convergence of many rare wild flowers, creating ideal conditions for developing honey beekeeping.
These days, the atmosphere in the buffer zone of Ben En National Park (Nhu Thanh district, Thanh Hoa province) has become more bustling as beekeeping households enter the harvest season.
According to local people, every year, from March to July, forest flowers in Ben En bloom one by one. This is also the time when beekeeping households are busy taking care of their beehives and harvesting honey, bringing a stable source of income.
As one of the long-time beekepers, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thanh (residing in Hai Van commune, Nhu Thanh district) said that the Ben En National Park area has a very rich source of flowers. In particular, around March and April, wild flowers bloom, providing an abundant source of honey.
At this time, beekepers often place many beehives in gardens along the forest, helping the beehives fly freely to suck honey in the primeval forest. Thanks to that, bees avoid unfavorable environments compared to placing beehives in areas at risk of being affected by pesticides" - Mr. Thanh shared.
According to Mr. Thanh, thanks to raising bees in the vicinity of the national garden, the bee herd can suck honey from many different types of wild flowers, creating a typical flavor for Ben En honey - fragrant, sweet and of superior quality compared to honey raised in the home garden. Currently, Ben En honey costs about 200,000 VND/liter. With more than 100 beehives, during the honey season, his family earns about 1 ton of finished honey, earning a profit of about 130 million VND.
Creating sustainable livelihoods
Thanks to beekeeping along the Ben En forest, many households have a stable source of income, and many families have even expanded their scale to hundreds of beehives.
According to beekeeping households, despite many advantages from nature, this profession still requires meticulousness, perseverance and experience. In particular, around the 2nd and 3rd lunar months of the year, bees enter the breeding period and separate flocks. At this time, they are susceptible to certain diseases such as Politics, diarrhea, etc. If not detected promptly, the disease can spread and cause great damage. In addition, raising bees near the forest also poses a potential risk because wild honey can attack the herd of bees, causing them to die or fly away.
According to the representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment (DONRE) of Nhu Thanh district, the beekeeping profession for honey in the area around Ben En National Park is increasingly developing. Thanks to good control of honey quality and ensuring stable output, this profession not only helps people increase their income but also contributes to promoting the local economy, creating more jobs for people.
"Taking advantage of existing natural resources, combined with a scientific beekeeping process, beekeeping in Ben En still has great potential for development in the future" - said a representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nhu Thanh district.
