Hornbill Festival: Tourists in for sweet treat with ‘bee tourism’

DIMAPUR — Sweet time awaits tourists visiting Nagaland during the Hornbill Festival as they can have a first-hand experience of extracting honey from the farm, taste and purchase it on the spot.

The Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is introducing ‘bee tourism’ for the first time during the upcoming mega event at Mima village, which is just 3 km away from Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, the main venue of the Hornbill Festival which is celebrated from December 1 to the 10th annually.

It will be flagged off by Abu Metha, Advisor to the chief minister of Nagaland, on November 29.

Chairman of NBHM, Obed Quinker, who announced the event at Multi Utility Centre, Chümoukedima, on Monday, said that they decided to introduce bee tourism to allow tourists experience how farmers rear the bees and extract honey from the farms itself, which can also boost the economy of the farmers.

He updated that the NBHM is also setting up a honey hub at Kisama during the festival, where beekeepers from 16 districts of the state will participate, showcase their products and sell them. The 5th edition of Nagaland Honeybee Day will also be held at Bamboo Hall in Kisama on December 5, and it will inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister TR Zeliang.

The objective of introducing the bee tourism is to boost the rural economy and sensitise the people about the importance of honeybees and their contributions, as well as to preserve the rich natural resources, and promote human resources and cultural resources, said Sentiwapang Aier, Additional Team Leader of NBHM.

Honey production insufficient for export

Deputy Team leader of NBHM, Khuvozoyi Vese, informed that there are 120,000 beekeepers (both scientific and traditional practices) across Nagaland, and currently produces 440 MT of honey annually.

As per the records, Zunheboto produces the highest amount of honey among the districts in Nagaland, followed Phek, Kohima and Tuensang, he said, adding that other districts too are not far behind.

However, he said the honey produced in the state is mostly consumed by the local market currently, though they sell in other states too in small ways through TRIFED as well as Nagaland emporiums in Kolkata, Delhi and Guwahati.

He added that the state needs to produce surplus honey, say 500-600 MT, to be able to export in a significant quantity.

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