Beekeeper brings wealth to SW China’s Tibet
Zhang Liangfu harvests honey from a bee hive. (Photo/Lu Jiaxing)
Beekeeper Zhang Liangfu has explored different ways to help residents in Shannan city of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region develop the beekeeping industry over the past seven years, generating wealth for its locals.
Zhang, who’s from southwest China’s Guizhou Province, came to Tibet for the first time in 2015. After travelling to almost all the flowering areas of the region, Zhang settled in Shannan, because it boasts clean water, fresh air and abundant nectar sources.
He managed to expand his beekeeping business from 20 hives to 2,000, and built an ecological park themed on the culture of beekeeping.
Zhang Liangfu observes bees. (Photo/Lu Jiaxing)
Zhang’s efforts were supported by the local government, which was optimistic about the prospects of beekeeping and encouraged enterprises to join hands with local households to involve more people in the industry.
“This year, my team cooperated with seven counties in Shannan, set up 2,000 hives, and established 64 beekeeping sites there, with an estimated output value of 32 million yuan (about $4.8 million). The dividends for farmers are expected to reach over 2 million yuan, which will be shared by about 800 to 1,000 households,” said Zhang confidently. “The profits will be better in the future!”
The villagers of Jora town, Tsona county in the city received 200 honeybee hives this June. “Zhang gave me a couple of honeybee hives last year, which allowed me to earn 8,000 yuan in two months. This year the villagers all expect to raise bees,” said local villager Phugpa Dradul.
Phugpa Dradul, who got acquainted with Zhang in 2021, felt distrustful about the bees at first. “But it turned out that it was more profitable than working outside,” he said with a grin. “This year our township is going to establish a cooperative. With 700 honeybee hives, our income will reach about 600,000 yuan by the end of the year.”
Local residents learn beekeeping skills. (Photo/Zhang Huilong)
To make it easier for the locals to raise bees, Zhang carefully analyzed the whole process of beekeeping, and found that beekeeping mainly hinges on disease control, overwintering, breeding and production, while the daily care of the bee farm itself is not so tiring.
In 2021, Zhang’s team began to cooperate with 34 households in three counties of Shannan city using a new model.
“I take charge of the technical and marketing part, and ask the farmers to ensure that the hives are not drowned in water, or damaged by animals, which is quite easy for them,” said Zhang. The trial run soon turned out to be a success. During the blooming season from June to August last year, households earned nearly 20,000 yuan on average.
Zhang Liangfu delivers hives to local residents. (Photo/Zhang Huilong)
This year, Zhang and his team have planned to try out intelligent beekeeping in a phased way. With a probe installed in each hive, the farmers can check the temperature, humidity, weight, number of bees and other indexes on their smart phones or at a management center in real time. This offers accurate data for beekeeping, and also boosts customers’ confidence in their products.
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