A CASE STUDY ON BEEKEEPERS IN KUMAON HILLS OF UTTARAKHAND

Honeybees play a major role in human food chain as pollinators of different crops. As pollinators Honeybees have an essential role in maintaining hill biodiversity and hill environment. Beekeeping has contributed to rural development through the centuries by supporting agricultural production and providing various bee products like honey, wax, and other products for domestic use and commercial sale. Beekeeping has a special significance for the farmers in the Kumon hills of the Uttarakhand as it offers a way for those with few resources, particularly poor and landless farmers and farm women. Empowerment of farmers and farm women is one of the critical issues in the development research and policy making in developing countries. It is a multidimensional concept and multifaceted process involving facilitation of women for action and involvement in social, economic and political spheres of life. Beekeeping helps hill farmers obtain quick income, as it requires little investment and can be easily carried out in a small space in close proximity to the beekeeper's home. Generally, investing in an apiary yield profits within a year of operation. Farmers in the hills have kept bees in hives for centuries for personal use, but now a day's beekeeping is also becoming more popular as it is now recognised as an income generating activity in hill areas. In order to take full advantage of bees, the farmers in hilly region need to take up modern approach to bee management using frame hives and focus on production of good quality honey.