Gia Dien commune, Ha Hoa district, has a long tradition of beekeeping and is known for its delicious honey. With its established reputation in the market and the efforts of its beekeepers, in 2020, the "Huong Ngan Dat To" honey product of the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative in Gia Dien commune was recognized as a 3-star OCOP product. This helped farmers increase their income, enhance the value and brand of the local specialty product, and contribute positively to the new rural development movement.
The 3-star OCOP product "Huong Ngan Dat To" is available at stalls in agricultural product and clean food stores and major markets inside and outside the province.
The advantage of numerous fruit orchards such as lychee, longan, pomelo, and orange in the communes and near the Ao Chau Lake area has created an abundant source of flowers, contributing to the development of beekeeping in Ha Hoa district. With a long tradition in the profession, the people of Gia Dien commune have accumulated valuable experience and learned from scientific and technical advancements to produce natural honey of superior quality. Previously, the honey produced was mainly to serve the needs of the local people, resulting in low profits.
In 2010, recognizing the high economic efficiency of beekeeping for honey production, low investment costs, and low risks, the commune government encouraged residents to participate in numerous training courses to learn beekeeping techniques and provide guidance for development. Simultaneously, they established the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative in Zone 1 to strengthen linkages and mutual support among beekeeping households, gradually shifting production thinking towards a market-oriented approach and improving honey quality.
Currently, the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative in Gia Dien commune has 7 members. Even the smallest members have several dozen bee colonies, while the largest have up to 100. The cooperative's main products are seasonal flower honey and mixed flower honey.
According to the experience of long-time beekeepers in the cooperative, the best honey harvesting season usually lasts from March to the end of May each year. Therefore, in addition to letting bees collect pollen and make honey from fruit trees within the commune, beekeepers in Gia Dien also move their bee colonies to orchards and farms in neighboring communes and districts. Thanks to this, the bees always find the best pollen sources, ensuring the honey is always natural and pure.
During the harvesting process, beekeepers at the cooperative only use the honeycombs that have been sealed, as this ensures the honey is mature, has the right consistency, and is sweet and not sour. On each honeycomb, the beekeeper uses a special tool to remove the sealing layer, allowing the smooth, thick honey to flow out. Next, the honeycomb is put into a centrifuge to extract the honey, which is then bottled hygienically for long-term storage.
Throughout the honey harvesting and bottling process, all equipment is sterilized to ensure compliance with food safety and hygiene regulations. This ensures that honey bearing the "Huong Ngan Dat To" brand consistently maintains its quality, retaining its characteristic thickness, sweetness, and preventing crystallization even after prolonged storage. The cooperative also maintains the price of honey at 150-200 thousand VND per liter, depending on the time of year and the flowering season.
Recognizing that the biggest goal of the OCOP Program is to awaken the advantages and strengths of the locality to create distinctive products, the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative, in its plan to build a brand and enhance the value of "Huong Ngan Dat To" honey, has worked with the local government to strengthen promotion and advertising through information channels and social media, bringing the product closer to consumers. Besides consumption within the district and province, "Huong Ngan Dat To" honey from Gia Dien commune is also available in agricultural product and clean food stores and major markets outside the province.
Mr. Nguyen Van Ky, head of the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative, said: "Beekeeping mainly utilizes entirely natural resources, creating a stable source of income. Monthly, the cooperative holds regular meetings to discuss and exchange beekeeping experiences to improve the quality of honey products and meet the increasing demands of consumers. In the future, members of the cooperative will continue to learn and improve beekeeping and harvesting techniques, invest in more machinery, enhance product quality, and recruit new members to increase the bee colonies and strengthen linkages to expand the market to neighboring provinces such as Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, and Tuyen Quang ..."
The "Fragrance of the Ancestral Land" honey product of the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative in Gia Dien commune, and Ha Hoa honey products in general, have been establishing their brand with increasingly high quality for consumers. Based on the success of beekeeping, Ha Hoa district will continue to encourage people to exploit the advantages of the hilly and forested areas, increase bee colonies, apply scientific and technical methods in caring for and developing colonies, and harvesting honey and other products; support access to production loans, create livelihoods, solve employment problems, and increase income for the people.
Thu Giang
Source: https://baophutho.vn/huong-ngan-dat-to-216647.htm
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