Beekeeper Angrej Singh shows a beehive. (Express photo)
At a time when many small and marginal farmers are grappling with agrarian crisis, a few extraordinary marginal farmers are demonstrating innovative and commercially viable ventures. Angrej Singh, 30, hailing from remote Dharmu Chakk village in Baba Bakala tehsil, Amritsar, stands out as a beacon of entrepreneurial spirit and dedication through his success in beekeeping.
His father, a retired Agriculture Department official, received four bee boxes from the Department’s Training & Visit scheme in 1992 and started beekeeping on a small scale. Angrej’s beekeeping journey, however, began in 2014. Initially hesitant, he decided to explore the new venture on his family’s one-acre land, drawing upon his father’s expertise.
Fast forward a decade and now he oversees a flourishing enterprise comprising 1000 bee boxes, and his honey has earned a coveted place on international shelves, including those in the USA and Saudi Arabia.
Angrej’s success story serves as an inspiration, particularly to the youth of Punjab who may harbour misconceptions about the viability of agriculture and allied ventures in sustaining lucrative earnings within India or Punjab. His achievement underscores the potential of agriculture-related enterprises to not only provide sustainable livelihoods but also thrive on a global scale.
“I never imagined beekeeping would become my passion and livelihood,” he shares, reflecting on his journey. “But once I started beekeeping when I was just 20, I fell in love with the bees and the process of honey production.” He exported 12 tonnes (12,000 kg) honey to Saudi last year and got the order of the same quantity from the USA and the consignment is ready to export now.
With dedication and meticulous care, Angrej expanded his beekeeping operation gradually. “I reinvested my earnings from honey sales into acquiring more bee boxes and improving my infrastructure. Our persistence paid off as our honey gained a reputation for its superior quality and purity with in the country as we sell it under the brand name of ‘New Golden Punjab Honey’,” he says, adding that the honey meets all international purity standards as “we got our tests done from Germany through a Gurugram-based company”. In India, the facility of all types of purity test of honey is not available, he adds.
“We are proud to produce honey that meets international standards,” Angrej remarked, adding that in fact that honey is among the most adulterated food items in the world. “It is very difficult to get the pure honey in the market these days as big international brands are there and many big companies mix cheap syrups,” he says, adding that the people in India are not even aware of the purity checks. He added that they have also set up a honey processing plant in the village with a capacity of 90 tonnes annually.
“While we produce around 25 to 30 tonnes of our own honey, other beekeepers attached with us also use our plant,” he says, adding that “our multiflora rich flavour and natural sweetness has a large buyer base in the country itself and the rate is between Rs 155 per kg and Rs 300 per kg depending on it’s demand and type.
However, it has not always been this smooth for Angrej. “After completing my graduation, I took various beekeeping courses and trainings offered by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Farmer Training Centre, Khalsa College Amritsar and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Amritsar etc,” he says.
But oblivious to the concept of quality certification, branding and self marketing, Angrej initially used to sell his precious honey to private traders at a very low price. During training on AGMARK certification by Marketing Section of Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, he got familiarised with AGMARK certification of honey. He also opted to shape his venture for self marketing and launched his AGMARK certified honey brand “New Golden Punjab” with aid from marketing.
“With technical assistance imparted by Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Amritsar, our bee farm is processing 7-8 different variants of rich quality honey,” he says.
Reenu Virdi, Agriculture Development officer (ADO) marketing in Amritsar, said that this certification shows that the honey is adulteration free. “The AGMARK certified honey is tested for various quality and purity parameters in the State Agmark Laboratory, Amritsar, before packing and marketing. With the vision to expand his business to foreign lands, Angrej Singh has recently got the registration from Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a government of India agency established in 1985-86.
Presently, New Golden Punjab honey is among the finest quality honey available in the market having True Source certification and M Halal Certification, which are requisite for the export of honey to USA and Saudi Arab, respectively,” the official says.
To keep the quality of his produce alive, Angrej has been shifting his boxes to Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and the forest of Punjab, where the impact of the insecticides and pesticides on the natural flora is negligible. He has also given employment to around 20 people.
Angrej has also bagged many state and national level awards and accolades for his agripreneurship. He has also honoured with Millionaire Farmers Of India Award 2023 sponsored by Mahindra tractors at Pusa ground, New Delhi for his phenomenal agripreneurship and diligent efforts to uplift farming sector.
