Honey production project in Margallas yet to show progress

Islamabad : The project of honey production initiated in Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) under the Billion Tree Honey Initiative is yet to show any progress due to some obvious reasons.

According to the details, former prime minister Imran Khan personally launched this project in the national park and also vowed that overall honey production in Pakistan would be increased up to 70,000 metric tonnes annually.

Former special assistant to the prime minister on climate change Malik Amin Aslam took interest in the project and provided the local community in the national park with practical knowledge about beekeeping for quality honey production, free pollination services of bees to enhance the quality and quantity of fruits, vegetables, and biodiversity conservation.

Initially, it was decided that the production of fresh and organic honey from the Margalla Hills under the Billion Tree Honey Initiative would start from June 2021.

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) PARC was supposed to help in the harvesting, extraction, quality testing, packing, and labelling of honey.

Malik Amin Aslam announced that branded honey of Margallas would be offered in the market through PARC-Agro Tech Company.

Four species of honeybees are found in Pakistan. Three are indigenous and one is imported. These species are present in different ecological areas of the country. The indigenous species are Apis dorsata, Apis cerana and Apis florea. The occidental species is Apis mellifera.

An official said the country is producing around 12,000 metric tonnes of honey per annum where the lack of a global standard honey testing laboratory and regulatory body is hampering its way to exploring the untapped export market in Gulf states and Saudi Arabia. He said, “The honey production in Margalla Hills has been our prime target for long and efforts are under way to make this project a success with the help of the relevant authorities.”