INDIRA GANDHI INSTITUTE OF CO-OPERATIVE

MANAGEMENT

STUDY VISIT REPORT ON MADHUMAKHI WALA (APICULTURE)

SUBMITTED BY
NO: JC405149Y
RANK: SUB
NAME: GYANENDRA SINGH
(INDIAN ARMY)
 Index

 Purpose of visit
 Introduction to Apiculture
 Common varieties of bees
 Description about site visited
 Products details
 About Madhumakhi wala
 Madhumakhi wala products
 Swot’ analysis of Apiculture
 Lesson from beekeeping
 Suggestion
 Bee equipment
 Conclusion
Purpose/ Objective of the visit:
The main objective of NBB is overall development of beekeeping by promoting scientific
beekeeping in the country to increase the productivity of crops through pollination support and
production of honey and other beehive products to increase the income of farmers/
beekeepers.

INTRODUCTION TO APICULTURE
The word ‘apiculture’ comes from the Latin word ‘apis’ meaning bee. So, apiculture or
beekeeping is the care and management of honey bees for the production of honey and wax. In
this method, bees are bred commercially in apiaries, an area where a lot of beehives can be
placed. Usually, apiaries are set up in areas where there are sufficient bee pastures – such as
areas that have flowering plants. The Indian agriculture needs to be diversified so as to
generate more income to farmers. Considering this aspect Khadi and Village Industries Board is
promoting Bee-Keeping industry from years together in the country. Honey and Bees are
known to the mankind since times immemorial. Honey is a nutritious fluid collected by Honey
Bees which is good for human health. Honey is used by mankind since very ancient period as
food, medicine etc. Bee-Keeping industry also plays important role in increase in yield of crop
through pollination. This industry plays important role to create employment opportunities
among the rural mass. The Government is implementing various programs so as to promote
this industry at large extent.

 It is an income generating activity.

 Provides food and medicine - value of honey and other hive products are invaluable.
 It supports agricultural activities through cross pollination and increase in yield of
crops.
 It contributes immensely to forest conservation.
 It provides supplementary income.

Introduction of organization Bee

farming visited.
Beekeeping is one of the oldest traditions in India
for collecting the honey. Honey bee farming is
becoming popular due its market demand in
national and international markets as well. Not only the farmers make a sweet dividend but
beekeeping also help increase agriculture productivity through pollination.
The main advantages of beekeeping are:

 Provides honey, which is the most valuable nutritional food.

 Provides bee wax which is used in many industries, including cosmetics industries,
polishing industries, pharmaceutical industries, etc.
 Plays an excellent role in pollination. Honey bees are the best pollinating agents which
help in increasing the yield of several crops.
 According to the recent studies, the honey bees venom contains a mixture of proteins
which can potentially be used as a prophylactic to destroy HIV that causes AIDS in
humans.

Common varieties of bees

The beekeepers mostly take care of only those bee
species whose names start with “Apis”- as they are the
only species which produce honey. Common species of
honey bees that are reared are as follows:

1. Apis dorsata: It is also referred to as the rock bee. It is a giant bee and produces about
38 to 40 kg of honey per colony.
2. Apis indica: It is also referred to as the Indian bee. It can be easily domesticated and is
most commonly used for honey production. The annual yield of honey is 2 to 5 kg per
colony.
3. Apis florea: It is also referred to as the little bee. It rarely stings and thus honey
extraction from its hive is easy. It produces about 1 kg of honey per colony per year.
4. Apis mellifera: It is also referred to as the Italian bee. This species has a very typical
dance routine to indicate food availability, and like the little bee, stings less. As the
common name suggests, this species is not local. However, because of the high amount
of honey produced, it is often reared by beekeepers.

Description about site visited.

A visit to a honey bee

farm is an enlightening
and exciting experience.
The World Honey Bee
Day, celebrated on
the third Sunday of
August, is an awareness initiative created by beekeepers to promote sustainable farming and
beekeeping. Bees play a very important role in the environment by serving as natural
pollinators that promote plant growth and the sustenance of different species of flora.
Therefore, their role in sustainable farming is irreplaceable and the preservation of the bees is
essential for the survival of various ecosystems. On World Honey Bee Day, honey bee farms
around the globe decorate their gardens with beautiful blooms and organise various activities
to exhibit the benefits of beekeeping. Here are 5 reasons why a visit to a honey bee farm or an
apiculture farm is the best way to celebrate World Honey Bee Day and to learn more about
these intriguing insects.

Products obtained
Bees are mainly reared for their honey. Besides that, we also obtain beeswax through
beekeeping. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants. Although honey is an
important ingredient in many food dishes, beeswax holds a lot of commercial significance too.
It is used in the cosmetic and medical industry, as well as a coating for cheese, and as a food
additive. It is also used as the main component for making candles, preparing polishes for the
shoe, furniture, etc.

Madhumakhiwala
About:
Enchanted by the world of bees, a young engineer, Nimit Singh quit his job and started
researching about beekeeping. In the first couple of years, he travelled around India learning
about the different types of methods used for beekeeping - both conventional and scientific. To
apply this knowledge, he set up a bee-farm near Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. After
some initial setbacks, he was able to establish “Madhumakhiwala” - a beekeeping venture that
reflected his fundamental values - Sustainability, Bee Conservation and Zero Adulteration.

Madhumakhiwala had a very humble beginning but it has now expanded to a customer base
across the country and seasonal apiaries in over & states of India. The team has grown as well,
with the addition of members to the close-knit management as well as the skilled and semi-
skied field staff.

How is Madhumakhiwala Raw Honey special?

Raw Honey is completely unaltered Honey unlike commercially produced Honeys available in
today's market. Commercial honey is made by a blending process that mostly involves heating
and often contain Sugar Syrup as an additive to get a smooth texture and make them
economical. Madhumakhiwala Raw Honey strives to keep the natural good properties of Honey
intact as collected by the honeybees - no heating, no sugar, no chemicals. We are able to do
this by maintaining the highest standards in all our processes. We do this by keeping a close
watch on bee-boxes' location, maintaining good feeding and health for the bees, regular
checkups of colonies, ensuring use of only high-grade food-safe materials for extraction,
collection and storage, in-house bottling and labelling and stringent randomized batch-wise
quality checks.

Our RAW HONEY of different Flora each have individual properties apart from the common
good qualities of Pure Honey like natural Vitamins, Propolis, Pollen and Antioxidants in varying
concentrations. Given its unaltered, natural state Raw Honey can vary in texture, color and
taste depending on age, area of collection etc.

Social Activities
In and around Lucknow and Barabanki, Madhumakhiwala has been engaged in multiple social
activities, one of which is the "Chanipurwa Kayakalp Foundation". Click on the button below to
know more about this Philanthropic Social Upliftment initiative.

MEET THE TEAM

MEMBERS:
 Nimit Singh
Founder and Proprietor
An ace beekeeper with wide exposure to traditional as well as modern beekeeping methodologies.
He is passionate about nature, social work and environment conservation.

 Krishna Mohan Singh

Operations Head
Experienced in Marketing, Sales and Inventory Management. Fondly called "Rinku", he manages
all the supplies and operational needs of the company.

 Hemang Chaturvedi
Digital Head
An amateur beekeeper but professional photographer. He manages all our digital platforms and is
involved in product development.

THERE PRODUCTS:

 Beeswax Rolled Candle

 Jamun Raw Honey
 Lychee Raw Honey
 Ajwain Raw Honey
 Mustard Raw Honey
 Multiflower Raw Honey
 Neem Raw Honey
  Eucalyptus Raw Honey

SWOT ANALYSIS OF APICULTURE

Strengths:
• Its principal product honey is already popular hence market for shall take care.
• Bee boxes can easily to prepared at village level with a little training and providing standard
specification.
Opportunities:
• Honey market can be expanded if organized properly.
• Bees wax can be utilized for manufacture of utility and fancy items.
Weakness:
• Details about honey of various floras are not available.
• Beekeeping as we find today is heavily subsidized. We have to see whether it can run without
subsidy or not since subsidies may not be available for ever.
Threats:
• Taking advantage of popularity of honey adulterated honey has taken bulk of market share
which threatens honey marketing.
• Indiscriminate spraying of pesticides has not only killed bees but also made honey harmful.

A lesson in beekeeping.
Most bee farms organize special workshops and events on World Honey Bee Day so that the
visitors may get to learn about beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. These activities offer an
opportunity to get to know about the different species of honey bees, their preferred
environments, and how to nurture them. You will also get to familiarize yourself with the
environmental benefits of beekeeping as well as the principles of sustainable farming. Do
interact and mingle with the staff at the farm to get to know about their experiences with the
wonderful and challenging art of beekeeping.

Suggestion/ Recommendation for organization.

It is a very impressive visit of the Madhumakhi Wala farm on 9 Mar 2024 (Thursday). This visit
was very beneficial and knowledgeable for me. They provide raw honey which is rarely
available in market as we know impure honey is widely available in market containing sugar
syrup and raw sugar which is dangerous for our health.

A chance to contribute to the environment.

While housing large colonies of bees may or may not be your cup of tea, you can still do your
bit for these natural pollinators by promoting pollinator diversity. You can create habitats for
the honey bees of your locality by planting native flowers in your garden. You can collect more
information regarding which plants support the local species of honey bees at the honey bee
farm, so that you may protect the dwindling urban population of these insects. Those at the
farm will guide you on how to convert your garden into a home for honey bees.

BEE KEEPING EQUIPMENT:

 BEE HIVE L.L. Langstroth discovered the principle of bee space in 1851 in the U.S.A. This
space permits free passage for worker bees
and is too small to build a comb by bees or too
large for depositing bee glue i.e. propolis. We
can say that bee space is optimum distance
between two surfaces in a bee hive essential
for normal movement and functioning of bees.
This principle was a big discovery for modern
beekeeping. The modern hive has been
designed on the bases of principle of bee
space in which frames can be easily moved.
The bee space measures 9.52 mm for A.
mellifera and this was modified for A. cerana
to be between 7- and 9-mm. Different parts of
a movable frame bee hive

 Stand: To support bottom board.

 Bottom board: It is floor of the hive
having an entrance for bees. On this
board brood chamber rests.
 Brood chamber: Chamber used for
rearing of brood. Frames are placed in
this chamber on which bees raise combs.
The dimensions and number of frames
vary with the type of hive. A wooden
dummy board is used to limit the size of
brood chamber and is placed at the end
of brood frames.
 Frame: Each frame consists of a top bar,
two side and a bottom bar. Inner aspect
 of the top bar has a groove for fixing comb foundation sheet. Side bar has 4 holes for
wiring the frame. The frame holds a comb.

 Bee veil: Used for

preventing bee stings on
face and neck
 Smoker: Used to calm
down the bees while
opening the hive (Fig.
6.7a).
 Uncapping knife: Large sized knife used to uncap the frames before honey
extraction (Fig. 6.7b).
 Hive tool: An iron strip used for opening of hive and its cleaning (Fig. 6.7c).
 Queen cell protector: A spring like structure
for protecting queen cells (Fig. 6.7d).
 Queen cage: Used to introduce a queen to new
colony and also to transport the queen. (Fig.
6.7e).
 Bee brush: To brush the bees from frames (Fig.
6.7f).

Handheld
Equipment

There Facebook page image of

profile background
CONCLUSION ABOUT REPORT
Apiculture, or beekeeping, is the practice of caring for bees and managing beehives to produce
honey and wax.

Here are some other points about apiculture:

 Beehives should be managed according to the seasons.

 Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans.
 Bees are bred commercially in apiaries, which are areas that can accommodate many
beehives.
 Before starting a honey bee-keeping project, entrepreneurs and farmers are generally
advised to undergo training.
Production of honey is the major aim of the industry and modern beekeeping also includes
production of beeswax, bee collected pollen, bee venom, royal jelly, etc.
Beekeeping is a significant sustainable, and environmental sound activity involving integration
of forestry, social forestry and Agricultural supporting activity since it provides nutritional,
economic, and ecological balance, while providing employment and income. India has a good
potential for beekeeping and to become a major honey exporting nation. Beekeeping is a low
investment and skill Industry having the potential to offer direct employment to lakhs of people
especially hill dwellers, tribal and unemployed youth and farmers. Sustainability of this industry
is therefore vital to the country’s economic wellbeing and development. Beekeeping has been
carried out across many generations in India.

Your plan about business of visited organization.

This visit is very useful for me and have well equipped farm. This farm has more potential to
grown up near future. All the honey product of the farm was good.