As a tiny wild animal, how can this stingless bee be raised in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City to be both fun and profitable?

After a trial period, Mr. Pham Hoang Phuc, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Phuoc Kien Commune (Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City) has successfully raised stingless bees for honey. This wild animal, stingless bees, is still very unfamiliar to the people of the city, but has quite good economic value. Each liter of this stingless bee honey costs nearly 2 million VND.

Mr. Hoang Phuc said that he has been experimenting with raising stingless bees for honey for 2 years now with 100 stingless bee boxes (hives). The stingless bee raising model of Mr. Hoang Phuc, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Phuoc Kien Commune (Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City) will be widely deployed to farmers this year.

The beekeeping area of ​​Mr. Hoang Phuc, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Phuoc Kien Commune (Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City). Photo: T.D

Successfully raising stingless bees, a wild animal still unfamiliar to city dwellers

"Many people call me a "farmer leader". I am always looking for new livelihoods to help farmers increase their income and develop their family economy. Once I heard that raising stingless bees for honey brings high income, and is especially suitable for the urban agricultural model that is developing in Ho Chi Minh City, I learned the techniques and successfully raised stingless bees for honey," said Mr. Hoang Phuc.

Currently, in Mr. Hoang Phuc's stingless beekeeping area, there are more than 50 hives. In addition, he also sends stingless bees to another place. In total, Mr. Phuc is raising stingless bees for honey with 100 boxes.

According to Mr. Hoang Phuc, there are many types of stingless bees. Currently, he is raising 3 types of stingless bees, including: large stingless bees, medium stingless bees (people mainly raise this yellow-bellied stingless bee for honey) and small stingless bees.

Regarding stingless bee farming techniques, Mr. Hoang Phuc said that depending on the farmer's goal, they can prioritize honey extraction or separate the colony. Accordingly, 2-6 colonies can be separated from a stingless bee nest in a year, depending on the size of the nest and the number of queen bees.

As for honey, farmers can harvest twice a year. Accordingly, each honeycomb of Mr. Hoang Phuc can collect about 1 liter of honey/year. It is known that currently in the market of Ho Chi Minh City, honey price is 1.7 - 1.9 million VND/liter.

According to Mr. Hoang Phuc, raising stingless bees for honey is a profession that brings good income to farmers, suitable for the urban agricultural model. Photo: T.D

"In general, raising stingless bees for honey is very simple, just need to have a breeding nest placed in a location with a source of flowers to collect honey. Raising stingless bees for honey does not require a large investment (about 400,000 VND/box), does not take much effort, and the raising technique is also quite simple, for example, collecting honey is quite easy because these bees do not sting like other types of bees...", Mr. Hoang Phuc confided.

Mr. Hoang Phuc added that although the color of honey in general can change depending on the type of flower the bee collects nectar from, most of this honey has a darker color than the honey of common bees.

In addition, du honey has a thinner texture, lighter sweetness, and a faint aroma, but has higher purity and nutritional value.

Honey du on the market is sold at a very high price. Honey du is expensive because this product line has many health benefits compared to other types of honey.

Establishing the first cooperative in Ho Chi Minh City to raise stingless bees for honey

Honey contains many enzymes, antioxidants, and has high antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Many studies have shown that honey is beneficial for digestive health, strengthens the immune system, and helps heal wounds more effectively.

In addition, honey is often favored in health care products due to its natural and pure properties.

A beehive filled with honey in Phuoc Kieng commune, Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: T.D

Mr. Hoang Phuc confirmed that early this year, he will coordinate to establish the first honey bee farming cooperative in Phuoc Kien (Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City). If so, this will also be the first honey bee farming cooperative in Ho Chi Minh City.

To prepare for this plan, most recently (November 19, 2024), the Farmers' Association of Phuoc Kien commune organized a training session on the Urban Agricultural Model of Stingray Bee Farming for farmers in the area. Currently, in the commune, there are 15 members participating in learning about and raising Stingray Bees.

"In the future, the Commune Farmers' Association will coordinate to establish a cooperative group to build a honey bee farming model that is increasingly high quality, effective and environmentally friendly.

Raising stingless bees for honey is an urban agricultural model that can be applied to farmers or people living in Phuoc Kien commune in particular and Nha Be district in general.

Farmers in Phuoc Kien commune (Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City) during a training session on honey bee farming techniques at the end of 2024. Photo: T.D

The model of raising wild animals such as anemones, if developed properly, can help solve problems related to employment and income, especially with a green and sustainable economy.

This is considered a suitable direction with the increasingly narrowing land fund for agriculture in the area, and is also an inevitable direction to build a sustainable urban agriculture development of the city," Mr. Hoang Phuc shared.

Mr. Hoang Phuc added that in the future, there will be strategies to sell stingless bee honey depending on market supply and demand, and register for OCOP to promote domestic and export stingless bee honey consumption.

Mr. Pham Van Hai, a farmer who is raising stingless bees for honey in Phuoc Kien commune, said that he would join the stingless bee raising cooperative group if the group was established. Many farmers in Phuoc Kien commune that we had the opportunity to meet had the same plan as Mr. Hai when they learned that raising stingless bees brings high economic efficiency.

Source: https://danviet.vn/la-dong-vat-hoang-da-ty-hon-con-ong-du-nay-nuoi-trong-pho-o-tp-hcm-kieu-gi-ma-vua-vui-lai-co-tien-20250206083147712.htm