ZCZC
BSS-13
MANIKGANJ-HONEY-COLLECTION
Manikganj mustard fields draw commercial honey collectors
MANIKGANJ, Jan 8, 2021 (BSS) – About 100 commercial honey collectors from different areas of the country are passing their busy time to collect honey from the blooming flowers of mustard in the district.
The honey collectors are rushing from one yellow mustard field to another with their bee boxes in all the seven upazilas of the district.
Abdul Gafur, 56, who has come from Sirajganj district with his young son, said they have a target of collecting at least 20 mounds of honey in the current winter season.
He said collecting honey is their seasonal profession and they have been doing the job in Manikganj district in the last 10 years.
All of the honey collectors from different districts, including Jamalpur, Gazipur, Pabna, Satkhira, Narayanganj, Kushtia and Sirajganj, have already started collecting honey from the mustard fields.
Rashed Ali, another honey collector hailing from Kushtia, said after collecting honey they sell it in different parts of Dhaka at the rate of Taka 8,000 to Taka 10,000 per mound.
Sheikh Fazal, one of the mustard cultivators, said, “We welcome the honey collectors as it helps to increase our agriculture production and we get some honey from the collectors as a gift.”
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said bee helps pollination while collecting honey flying from flowers to flowers of mustard which can help increasing about 15 percent production.
The persons concerned expected that about 3.5 tonnes of honey may be collected from Manikganj district in the current season.
They said the collection of honey started in last week of November and will continue up to the second week of January.
A total of Taka 70 lakh may be earned from the seven upazilas of the district this year through collecting honey.
This correspondent while visiting some areas of the district, including both the sides of Dhaka-Aricha highway, found that some of the honey collectors set a lot of honey collecting boxes with bees.
Md. Shahjahan Ali Biswas, deputy director of the DAE, said the farming of mustard started in due time as there was no water stagnancy anywhere in the district during the current season and the mustard plants grew properly.
Collecting honey from the mustard field is positive as the bees help pollination to increase production of mustard, the Deputy Director added.
BSS/CORR/SSS/1629 hrs