Thank you James for organizing the discussion on bee keeping and related issues.
I am trying to respond to your questions in the following statement.
1. What are the dietary and nutritional benefits known in your community for bee products?
- Among the bee products,honey is considered as a valued food item across whole Bangladesh.
- It enjoys both dietary and nutritional benefits in our community.People take fresh honey with food and also add with many items of food.Honey is also considered to have medicinal value.It is taken as a remedy of cold and many other ailments.People of Islamic faith consider honey as very precious since there is mention of honey in the Holy Quran and Al-Hadith.
2. Is honey affordable and available in your community all year round?
Yes,honey is available in our community all year round.It is affordable to most people though very poor sections of people may not purchase from market.But,they may collect honey from natural hives.
3.What are the prospects for beekeeping in the future? Beekeeping, poverty alleviation and food security: where are we headed?
Prospects of beekeeping does not yet look very bright.Only one government agency promotes and supports beekeeping effectively in Bangladesh.However,many people are engaged in beekeeping.If more promotional and supportive measures are taken beekeeping for poverty alleviation and food security may realize its potential.
4.With diseases, pests, habitat loss, colony collapse and climatic changes increasingly affecting apiculture around the world, what can we do to create sustainable conditions for agriculture and apiculture to coexist and to benefit from each other?
Motivational work coupled with training,arrangement of credit for purchasing required materials and maintenance of beehives and colonies may help immensely for creating sustainable conditions for agriculture and apiculture to coexist and to benefit from each other.
Syed Md. Zainul Abedin