Sweet affair: Honey collection in forests of the Sunderbans commences

Honey collection in Sunderbans kicked off from Tuesday with the forest division of South 24-Parganas issuing boat licenses (BLC) to traditional honey collectors so that they can venture into the deep forest.

“90 BLC' s have been issued in all with a target of collection of at least 10 metric tonne honey which is expected to fetch an earning of at least Rs 25 lakh for these 90 teams comprising 6 to 10 members in each,” Milan Kanti Mandal, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), South 24 Parganas said.

Each of the members were given mask, collection jars, T shirts etc in addition to individual janata insurance to the tune of Rs 5 lakhs each. Teams have already started their journey to Raidighi range from Tuesday and the entire honey collection process will be held for a month in two phases.

Meanwhile, the honey collection process under the Sunderban Tiger Reserve (STR) will start from April 7. 40 teams comprising 200 members will be taking two trips of 15 days duration each for collection of honey.

“A target of collecting 20 MT honey has been set under STR area,"Ajay Kumar Das, Field Director , STR said. The estimated for the collectors has been pegged at Rs 50 lakhs.

The entire honey collected through this process will be purchased by West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Ltd. (WBFDCL). The honey is graded in two categories – A and B with WBFDCL offering a price of Rs 250 per kg for A grade and Rs 225 per kg for B. The honey refractor machine is used for sorting of the honey based upon its moisture content and thus graded.

On March 25, a meeting was arranged by STR where they coordinated with the village representatives and crude honey gatherers of the JFMC (Joint Forest Management Committee areas of Basirhat Range. The traditional facts and facades of the honey collection procedure in the only mangrove-tiger land in the world, were thoroughly discussed throughout the session. Identification and gradation of honey on the basis of moisture content, its collection, the revised price ceiling, GI certification usefulness, as well as situational safety measures during the collection of crude honey, were the key concepts of the discussion.The Sunderban honey is extremely nourishing and is very much in demand. It is also exported in different parts of the country as well as in abroad.