Beekeeping - Enhancing the Livelihoods of Farmers affected by COVID-19

Shivappa’s (name changed) family have been agriculturalists for the past 30 years. Living a mere 200 meters away from a wildlife reserve boundary, they are no strangers to wildlife. Over the years, they have repeatedly lost their crops to foraging elephants, wild pigs and other animals, despite the use of electrical fences and scare devices. In 2020 alone, elephants have visited their land four times and destroyed banana and corn crops that were ready for harvesting. With market access being limited due to the pandemic, Shivappa’s family is striving to make ends meet this year.

Like Shivappa, thousands of farmers live near wildlife reserves, and face frequent hardships due to human- wildlife conflict. While the government schemes offer some assistance for conflict related losses, the costs of coexisting with wildlife are high. The pandemic has pushed these marginalized communities further towards poverty, and they require additional sources of income to help better their lives.

One hundred small scale farmers who face conflict regularly will be selected to receive training in beekeeping. We will also provide them with a starter kit (3 bee houses, colonies and extraction equipment), and create a supply chain to market their products. By offsetting the initial setup costs, we will help farmers establish a successful venture to diversify their income streams over a 12 month period.

We foresee immediate, positive changes to farmer livelihoods through the sale of bee products such as honey and beeswax. 

Communities surrounding Bandipur and Nagarahole are primarily composed of small- scale farmers. They are almost entirely dependent on agricultural and livestock yields for their livelihoods and fall in the lowest 20% of rural India. On average, beekeeping could help each household match the annual income earned through agricultural yields alone where farmers earn ~Rs. 16,000 annually.

Over time, we hope to see successful farmers promote beekeeping as a stable, additional source of livelihood. Beekeeping will go a long way in relieving financial stress caused by human- wildlife conflict, and promote tolerance for wildlife.