Prospects of beekeeping in Bangladesh

Abstract

The main focus of the study was to examine the scope of beekeeping in Bangladesh. The data were collected from beekeepers of Tangail and Gopalgonj districts, because this enterprise is working more in these areas than others in Bangladesh. Fifty-four beekeepers were selected randomly and they were interviewed for getting the necessary data to determine the costs and return of beekeeping and to assess the scope of beekeeping. Forty six percent of the total beekeepers had own land of 0.51 to 1.50 acres and 37 per cent of them were young beekeepers in the age group of 15-30 years. Most of the beekeepers took it as a main occupation. The benefit cost ratio of beekeeping was 1.59 which showed that this business was profitable. It will be a great source of employment creation for the rural poor people to reduce the poverty. There is a great prospect of beekeeping in Bangladesh on the basis of the socio-economic context of the country and some special features of the enterprise. There are some problems identified by the beekeepers and they have suggested some solutions also. Finally the authors have drawn some recommendations to expand beekeeping enterprise in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Beekeeping; Net return; Employment; Prospects

DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v7i1.4972

J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 7(1): 109-116, 2009