Honey is a natural food substance that bees produce from the nectar they collect, process, and store. It provides some medicinal benefits primarily from sugars, but it also contains pollen and proteins.
Bees are vital to our environment because they pollinate a diverse range of plants, including crops such as almonds, apples, and pumpkins.
Bee rearing and honey making is a profitable agricultural enterprise that receives little attention, according to the founder, Honeyman_ng, Balogun Oluwaseyi, this agriculture can be run concurrently with any other side hustle as it requires little care and capital to get started.
Basic tools
A bee smoker is required when inspecting the farm, this could be invaluable to calm bees when they get violent. You also need bee suit to cover all openings in your body, hand gloves, rubber boots and head cover.
How to start
Balogun says, you only need to buy BeeHive on your land or rent one, bait it with honey or BeeWax as this will allow it to attract honey to the hive and once the honey has been attracted to the hive, they will then colonise it and make it their abode where they start producing honey in the hive.
The business is more like an asset when you start. You can use a particular bee house for at least five to 10years, it does not depreciate easily, and you don’t need to think about maintenance costs or feeding the bee.
Knowledge
It is necessary to gain knowledge before diving into this business. It only takes a week for you to know about it. Balogun says the theoretical aspect takes up to five days while the practice takes two days, and this will help one get familiar with and understand how bees behave, what you will need to calm the bees when it’s getting violent, and this you cannot do without getting the knowledge.
Harvesting
Harvesting honey takes place twice a year. For someone starting new, it will take between four to five months before you can start harvesting honey from the beehive. Another beauty of this farming is that you only need to go and check the honey once in a while because it does not require constant visits.
Market
There is a huge market for honey in Nigeria as its uses vary from baking to cooking, home remedies to beverages. When people know you have unadulterated honey, the demand for it is usually far more than what one can supply.
Investment
Depending on the number of beehives an individual wants, but with one, you are good to go. A beehive, bee smoker, and bee suit could cost between N40,000 to N50,000.
Profitability
A litre of honey is between N4,000 to N5,000, and with one beehive, you are sure of getting four litres of honey in a worst-case scenario, and 10 to 15 litres of it in best case scenario.
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