SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN BEEKEEPING IN GULMI, NEPAL

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the socio-economic aspects of the traditional and the modern beekeeping methods comparing costs, returns, productivity, profitability, and identifying key constraints for both approaches. Ninety-six beekeepers, with equal representation from both modern and traditional beekeeping practices, were selected randomly from Resunga Municipality-10 and Musikot Municipality-6. Primary data were gathered through questionnaire surveys, key informant surveys, and focal group discussion. Secondary information was obtained from publications of relevant institutions. The collected data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software. The results show that modern beehives have 2.3 times higher honey productivity (6.49 kg/hive) compared to traditional hives (2.77 kg/hive). Despite higher total production costs for modern beekeepers (NRs. 2526.70) than traditional beekeepers (NRs. 1373.74), modern beekeeping generates greater income per hive (NRs. 7825.32 vs. NRs. 3025.73). Modern beekeepers also exhibit higher gross margin, net margin, and benefit-cost ratio (NRs. 6156.13/hive, NRs. 5298.61, and 3.09) than their traditional counterparts (NRs. 2012.90, NRs. 1651.99, and 2.21). Analysis of production constraints reveals that the modern beekeepers face issues of unavailability and inaccessibility of modern input materials (index value 0.77) and inadequate technical knowledge (index value 0.74). In contrast, traditional beekeepers encounter challenges of absconding and swarming (index value 0.89) and infestation of disease/pests (index value 0.83). Modern beekeeping in Gulmi, Nepal, exhibited greater productivity and profitability than traditional methods. The study highlights the necessity of addressing distinct challenges within each group to promote sustainable beekeeping practices in the region.

Keywords

• apis cerana
• absconding
• honey; nepal
• wooden hives