LIKE anything else in life, success more often than not follows hard work, commitment and persistence.
Bee keeping is no magic for spinning money as some were led to believe.
It certainly involves hard work, some level of basic understanding of bees and common sense to effectively manage it.
Some practical training involving handling of hives is important for anyone who is new to it.
Bee keeping is more of doing and handling than just theory or something to just talk about.
Attitude plays a major part in many failures of similar ventures of which neglect and putting off for another time are the most common problems.
Going into bee keeping on the basis of wrong expectation is a sure recipe for disappointment.
I’ve heard such opinion aired in the radio recently, harvest after 2-3 weeks and earning thousands of dollars within that time frame is an overstatement of the reality.
Such claims are misleading and are highly questionable.
People must learn to reason and seek second opinion from the right people. Talk to the livestock officers or others who have some experience in keeping bees.
It’s a pity that people fall easily on speculative claims. Good guide is, if it sounds too good to be true it may not be true.
Bees are amazing creatures that work themselves to death but the bee keeper must have to do his part.
For example; check your hives and the surrounding every day to make sure nothing is affecting your hives.
Anything can happen that can basically wipe out your hives in no time if you’re neglecting them.
Bee keeping is not a cheap project to start. Equipment, nucs, boxes and frames cost a lot of money.
The three major obstacles to overcome are: attitude, weather and Asian bees also known as Apis cerana.
An area where there are no Asian bees presence has greater chance for higher honey production.
A good advice to starters is, just enjoy the pastime of doing it and in the process of time and of taking good care of the hives, they will give you a supply of honey or some money as a return of your investment.
With the level of effort you put in, you could get some decent return as well but it isn’t magic.
That caution is crucial to keep in mind to avoid disappointment and discouragement.
Patience no doubt is important for success in bee keeping.
Keen to discuss further on anything thing to do with bee keeping, bee supplies or market of your honey; do not hesitate to call 7667270.
By BEN NGINABULE
Honiara