(Reporter Yan Xiaodong, correspondent Yang Wei, Li Ke) On December 12th, The First Hubei Bee Industry Forum & Bee Products Expo opened in Wufeng County. About ten experts and scholars from China Bee Products Association, China Institute of Beekeeping and Agriculture and Forestry Universities gathered in Wufeng, focusing on supply side reforms, building up the brand of “Hubei Bees” and discussing the development and future of bee industry, in order to make ordinary people access to real bee products.
In recent years, with the development of the “green for grain” program and ecological agriculture, Wufeng forest coverage rate gets to 81% and honey-resource plant area is more than 500 thousand acres which can accommodate more than 100 thousand standard groups. And the original vertical bee barrels, which can be seen everywhere, are rare original bee resource reserves in China. Based on Bee Breeding Association and Bee Farming Cooperatives, Wufeng introduced the electricity sales policy and other measures, in order to establish “Wufeng honey” public brand trademark and “Chinese Bee Reserve” and to gradually form bee breeding core demonstration area (the Chinese bee).
Zhang Jieshan, the director of animal husbandry bureau in Wufeng, introduced that 97 villages in the Wufeng county have a long history of bee breeding together with good technical basis and strong bee groups and fecundity. Bees in each group with traditional breeding can produce honey bee 15-20 kg, the each-group bees with frame feeding annually produce honey 25-35 kg on average, even up to 60 kg. Taking “Houhe Herb Honey” as an example, the regular price is 80-120 yuan / kg but in tourist season, the price will soar to 160 yuan / kg.
The year of 2016 is the key stage of poverty alleviation. While making the poverty alleviation project in Wufeng, the Chinese bees were in one of the nine major industries and relevant supporting policies were introduced. The subsidy standard is 200 yuan per barrel, with a maximum of 15 barrels, in order attract more poor households to participate in the bees breeding.
He Xianzhang is a poor household in Xiaohe county of Wufeng with established files. In April this year, he raised nine groups of bees in accordance with the developmental standards and got 200 yuan as a subsidy for one barrel. After the scientific harvest of honey, the income of more than 60 kilograms of pure honey exceeded 5000 yuan and the total income was about 7000 yuan. “These nine groups of bees will be divided into 25 groups next year. Only this one can make a profit of at least 10000 yuan.” he said delightfully.
According to statistics, by now, more than 9600 groups of bees’ honey production has reached more than 120 tons in the areas within Wufeng with the expected increase about 24 million yuan for beekeepers according to the market price. Wan Hong, the head of Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, said that in 2017, Wufeng will make further exploration in bee breeding scales, following a scientific and industrialized road. Through the development, 500 demonstration farms will be built, 700 households beekeeping will be formed and honey production will reach one million kilograms. What’s more, the comprehensive value of honey industry can amount to over 200 million yuan. It is hoped that the honey industry can play significant role in increasing the farmers’ incomes, alleviating poverty and finally help them live in a moderately prosperous society.