Busy bee business sweetens lot of traditional farmers

By Ahmad Solikhan

TEMANGGUNG, Central Java (JP): Thousands of honey bees streamed out from the 100 hives each measuring 180 square centimeters.

The humming convoy made a natural chorus as they swooped down on a cornfield just over 100 meters away.

In a few seconds, the yellowish cornflowers on the stalks were bedecked in brown.

The new day had just dawned and the air was still cool when five men opened the hives in Ngemplak village, Temanggung regency, Central Java. The day's work began with the opening of latches on the bee hives.

"Every morning at 5 a.m. we let the bees out of their hives," said Muhamad Winaji, 19, owner of the bee farm which moves every three months to a new area.

Winaji and 15 fellow beekeepers arrived in the area only one month ago. He formerly kept bees in Pati, Central Java.

Unlike a modern bee farming program concentrated in one area, Winaji's method involves moving to areas where preferred plants are in bloom.

Selected sites are usually agricultural land with crops like randu (kapok or cotton), rubber and fruits of klengkeng and rambutan.

"This method creates better possibilities for yielding honey continuously in one year," said Winaji.

Cornfield owners do not object to the use of their area for the bees because fertilizing done by the bees helps their crops.

"My corn is better and harvest time comes quicker," said Marwito, a cornfield owner.

Without the bees, the corn harvest takes place every four months, but arrives two week earlier when they are present.

"I am fortunate if the bees are here at corn planting time."

The beneficial role of bees in the fertilizing process of plants is acknowledged by Jesmandt Situmorang, an entomologist in the School of Biology, Gadjah Mada University.

"Bees step up the fertilizing process," he said.

Bees play a 30 percent to 70 percent share in fertilization, Situmorang said. In Europe and the U.S., he added, the fertilization was considered more precious than the yield of bees' honey, and farmers hire beekeepers.

"Without bees, there are no plants yielding good fruit," he added.

A hundred hives can yield between half a ton and one ton of pure honey in a season lasting three months.

The can also yield seven kilograms of royal jelly, the white liquid secretion from the glands of the honeybee which is famed for its nutritious properties.

"Royal jelly is sold or used to feed bees in the rainy season," said Winaji.

Bees stay in their hives in the rainy season and do not produce honey. The gathering of honey is in the dry season.

Prices of honey vary according to the nectar from the flowers.

The most expensive is the honey from klengkeng flowers at Rp 7,000 per kg. Randu flower honey costs Rp 4,000, durian flower honey Rp 4,500, and rambutan flower honey is cheapest at Rp 2,500.

The honey is delivered to the bee farmers' association in Semarang which markets the commodity.

Royal jelly, which sells for Rp 300,000 per kg, is difficult to market due to its high price. Usually farmers receive orders for the jelly.

"I often sell royal jelly to Chinese medicine shops," said Winaji.

Bee farms also market pollen from the bees.

In a three-month period, pollen production can be from 300 kg to 400 kg. It sells for Rp 40,000 per kg.

"Cosmetics manufacturers usually buy pollen for their products," said Winaji.

He travels extensively to survey areas where flowers are in bloom -- Central and East Java, Bali and Lampung -- to discover the best sites to keep the bees.

In Pati regency, Central Java, randu plants are in full bloom in May, and klengkeng flower from June to September in Ambarawa, Central Java, and Malang, East Java.

"We regularly move from one place to another according to the different times when the flowers bloom," said Winaji, a beekeeper since the age of 12.

Winaji moves his bees at night because they have all returned to their hives at this time.

In Ngemplak, Winaji rents a simple house that accommodates his workers for Rp 30,000 a month.

Beekeepers have difficulty in maintaining family relationships due to the transient nature of their work. Winaji, himself the father of a son, said this was the reason he decided to become a manager after five years working as a keeper.

Sutarno, 47, has been a keeper for 12 years.

He and his three colleagues do not ask for much. They share a 16-square-meter bed in the house. The room looks like a scruffy bachelor's pad, with heaps of clothes stuffed in corners and dirty garments hanging on pegs on the wall

"Sorry, our room is untidy. We are all single here," he said with a smile.

Sutarno, who says he earns a monthly wage of Rp 200,000, said the cramped room was still much better than his experience of sleeping for several months on a mat in the forest.