Kaihua explores new way to develop beekeeping industry

Kaihua county in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, known as the "hometown of apis cerana", has a breeding population of 56,000 apis cerana colonies, among the most in the province.

In order to further promote the high-quality development of the apis cerana industry, Kaihua has since 2018 been searching for high-quality honey powder sources in surrounding areas.

"Over the course of 10 days, the sapium discolor in Jiangxi province will gradually enter its flowering period. I will take the bee colony to find a good location to gather honey," said Xia Chen, chairman of the Kaihua Beekeeping Association.

His 200 boxes of bees will stay in Yiyang county, Shangrao, Jiangxi for a month to gather honey. In one month, the bees can retrieve 2,000 kilograms of honey, which is expected to bring in over 200,000 yuan ($28,119) in income.

In Kaihua county, there are over 30 apis cerana breeders who follow the flowering period in different areas like Xia Chen.

With help from the Kaihua agriculture and rural bureau and the Kaihua Beekeeping Association, they established an "enclave beekeeping" model with 15 regions, including Xiuning in Anhui and Shangrao in Jiangxi, allowing the apis cerana industry to expand.

"In February and April, the Kaihua Beekeeping Association arranged for bee farmers to go to Rui'an, Taishun and Changshan to collect wild osmanthus and sweet pomelo honey. Next, in September, they will go to Poyang Lake in Jiangxi for gallnut honey and in November, they will go to Qiandao Lake to collect winter osmanthus honey," added Xia.

The "enclave beekeeping" model has kept honey sources throughout the year, making up for the lack of honey sources in Kaihua and increasing the honey production of apis cerana by more than 45 percent. Output value has increased by over 35 percent.