Sandeep Jattan uploaded his new video on FTB in which he talked about his passion for bee-keeping which he has now successfully developed into a brand called Jatain Natural Honey. Jattan has taken his family occupation forward; his parents have been bee-keepers since 1994. Today, they have more than four and a half thousand bee boxes. Jattan has even received the “Best Bee-Keeping” award from Karnal district in Haryana.
After earning his diploma, Jattan worked at a corporation which handled exports for some time. There, he felt that he was only working for someone else and not doing anything of his own. Then he came up with the idea of creating his own brand. Soon, this matured into a pan-India project: Jatain Natural Honey now has a reach everywhere in the country.
Bee-keeping is a highly beneficial business. However, it is not a cake walk. Going into the details of his profession, Jattan explains that he has to work throughout the year without a break; so technically the bee-keeping business never halts but is only migrated from one place to another. For instance, in summers, it is moved to colder regions like Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh where the bees pollinate on apple trees. Some farmers even rent the bees for pollination and Jattan’s business earns 800-900 Rupees per box additionally.
In the vegetable season, the boxes are migrated to places like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. There, they come across mustard crops which results in a good yield of honey. In between, there are several seasonal crops which affect the production of honey, and Jattan migrates his business according to these. The taste and colour of honey also varies depending on the crop the bee boxes are around. They are even exported and sold in domestic markets based on this. Other than honey, Jattan’s business deals in various by-products like pollen, wax, and bee venom. These are derived in the dry season, when there is no production of honey and give a considerable profit.
Going into the details of bee-keeping, Jattan further explains that there are two kinds of bee-keeping models in India: single box and double box. A single box contains around 35,000-40,000 bee workers. The honey produced from this box amounts to 25-30 kilograms. A double box, which contains around one lakh bees, yields around 80 kilograms of honey.
Jattan also busted the myth of honey being ‘impure.’ He emphasized that honey is a naturally occurring pure substance and it can never be impure. In fact, raw honey is much better than processed honey and is many times more beneficial to our health.
Going into the financial aspect of his business, Jattan says that it can be started on a small scale and it not only gives back the investment but also gives a huge profit. In fact, he urged all young farming entrepreneurs to engage in this business. He also revealed that the government provides considerable subsidies to individuals beginning a bee-keeping business.
Jattan’s journey to success might seem very smooth; however, it has not been easy. He told Krishi Jagran that in the initial days of bee-keeping what he found the most difficult was staying away from home while migrating the bees. He also faced theft of his bee-boxes. However, after gaining years of experience, his business is now going strong and even the pandemic could not do any harm to it. In fact, Jattan said, the profit has increased in the times of the novel Coronavirus.
Jattan’s advice to all individuals is to start a bee-keeping business by getting expert training and buying bee-boxes from a professional bee-keeper like himself. He even provides training to interested farmers at his farm and also sells them various bee-keeping equipments.
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