Al Amin and his father Sabu Molla have found success collecting honey from mustard flowers. They set bee boxes in mustard fields at Defulia village in Magura Sadar and have named their business Khadija Mou Khamar (Khadija Bee Farm). Mustard flowers sway in the wind across the fields, and from them comes honey.

Beekeeper Sabu Molla said they collect honey from mustard flowers in fields across Magura by placing boxes beside the crops. This season they have set 90 boxes in Defulia village. Six workers care for the bees and feed them. Honey is taken from the boxes every Monday, and 2-3 maunds can be collected a week.

His son Al Amin said traders from different parts of the country come to buy their honey, which they sell at Tk 400 to Tk 500 a kg. The honey goes to Shariatpur, Manikganj, Dinajpur, Faridpur, Dhaka, Barishal, Patuakhali and Chattogram districts. This year they have sold Tk 1.2 lakh worth of honey. Besides mustard honey, they collect honey from coriander, black cumin and lychee flowers.

Al Amin told Jagonews24: "In summer we collect honey from various lychee orchards. Each flower's honey is different – some is thick, some thin. Mustard honey is very clear. Black cumin honey is often used in medicine. We do not mix sugar into our honey, so demand for it is high and its quality is very good."

Sabu Molla told Jagonews24: "Our honey collection runs from the month of Agrahayan. For the rest of the year we collect honey in the Sundarbans area."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.