With 2,700 beehives, he is inspiration for many

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, February 8

Pardeep Kumar (29), a native of Badal village in Muktsar, has become a source of inspiration for farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir with his successful beekeeping business, which he started 14 years ago.

In 2002, Pardeep, who has studied till Class XII, started beekeeping with 16 beehives, but now has an annual turnover of Rs 1.5 crore. He is not just selling honey, but also making apple jam now.

At present, he owns 2,700 beehives across five states and has a staff of 60. One beehive gives him about 40 kg of honey a year. He sells his produce to Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Limited, Dabur India Limited and some other traders in Delhi. He has also got supply orders from Markfed.

Taking it a step further, he has also started making beehives, supplying it to the state Horticulture Department, which further gives it on subsidy to beekeepers. Pardeep was also awarded by the state for beekeeping on Independence Day in 2013.

The journey of this young businessman was not easy. He says, “My father passed away when I was just a six years old. My mother is an anganwari worker and we are five siblings. So, it was not an easy task for her to feed us. After completing my studies, I started beekeeping by making an investment of Rs 65,000. Now, I am not just self-sufficient, but also provide employment to a large number of people.”

Pardeep also puts up stalls at events, such as the National Livestock Championship. He generally does a business of nearly Rs 1.5 lakh in just five days at these events. “In a year, I put up stalls in nearly 40 melas. This way, I publicise my brand and do brisk business,” he added.

Narrating his success story, he says, “I got trained at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Bathinda. But today, people come to me to get trained.”

When he started, he was the lone beekeeper in his village, but now six more people have started this business. “Similarly, in neighbouring Kheowali, seven people are into beekeeping now. We have set up a cooperative society at Badal village to promote beekeeping.”

He gives the credit of his success to CM Parkash Singh Badal, who also hails from the same village. “When the CM came to know about my efforts, he called me and assured me of all help. And he did.”

“The government is giving 50 per cent subsidy to beekeepers and farmers must adopt it,” he says.

Dr HS Sandha, Director, Animal Husbandry, says, “Every farmer must adopt subsidiary occupation to supplement his income.”