Beekeeping in Sirinić parish
Boban Staletović from Berevac got into beekeeping in 2011, and today it is his great love and a real pleasure for him because he enjoys working with bees.
According to Boban Staletović, three types of honey can be found in the Sirinić parish: meadow, acacia and honeydew.
"The greatest demand is for meadow honey, which is of exceptional quality, which has been proven." We participated in many competitions, where we mostly won the first places. The price of honey this year is 20 euros. It may be expensive, but nowadays everything is expensive, so if you want quality honey, you have to pay for it. Of course, you can find honey for 5 euros and 10 euros, but it's all of dubious quality. Honey should be bought from a well-known beekeeper, because this is the only proof that you are buying real honey. Otherwise, organoleptically, today it is very difficult to determine which honey is real and which is false, unless chemical analyzes are carried out, but they are quite expensive".
Although at the beginning of the season the weather conditions were favorable for bee grazing, due to the cold spring and extremely high summer temperatures, the amount of honey this year will be much less than expected, said the interviewee of RTK2.
"Bees are creatures that are easily adaptable, however, nature and the very plants from which bees collect nectar, they do not secrete that nectar and that is the biggest problem." This year, we are not very satisfied in our environment, because we also have too many bees, and of course that affects the yield. There are over 600 beehives in the atar of the village of Berevac alone, which is extremely high. Basically, there are beekeepers who are satisfied, there are beekeepers who are not, but I hope that next year will be better".
Boban started with just one hive, and today he has over 80. Beekeeping is an expensive business, but when the year is good, everything pays off.
"It was a hobby when I started with one hive, but when you exceed 10 bee colonies, then it becomes a business." Beekeeping is an expensive business, and in order to equip one colony you need about 100 to 150 euros, but if you buy colonies, that is a plus. The beehive itself costs around 60 euros to 70 euros, 1 kg of wax is 13 euros to 15 euros, and for one beehive you need 2 kg of wax, frames, as well as other equipment, such as a spinning top... At the beginning it is expensive, but from every year, investments decrease, but when it's a good year, it pays off."
If we are to judge by the plans of the interlocutors of RTK, the tradition of producing quality honey in Sirinića parish will continue. In the end, they remind us of a popular saying that says:
"Use honey as food, not to use it as medicine."
