Hunchun, Jilin: Beekeeping becomes a money tree for increasing income and getting rich
Jin Shiwan, a farmer from Machuanzi Township in Hunchun City, built his fortune through beekeeping. Thanks to beekeeping, he put his two sons through university and his daughter through secondary specialized school. It can be said that the money for his children's education was earned by keeping bees, and the various household appliances he bought and the tile-roofed house he built were also earned by keeping bees. He says beekeeping is simply a money tree.
In 1978, Jin Shiwan started keeping bees, and it has now been more than 20 years.
At first, he bought 5 hives of bees. Because he had not mastered the basic laws of bee biology or methods for preventing and controlling pests and diseases, paralysis disease broke out severely and the bees were completely wiped out that year. But he was not intimidated by the difficulty. The next day he bought 10 more hives of bees, often sought advice from local beekeeping masters, and purchased materials on beekeeping. He conscientiously studied bee biology, pest and disease prevention and control techniques, and feeding and management techniques, and his production techniques gradually matured. Through small migratory beekeeping within the prefecture, that year his colonies grew to more than 30 hives, producing more than 2,000 kg of honey and 10 kg of royal jelly, with a net income of 15,000 yuan. Not only did he recover that year's costs, he also had a surplus.
In the course of beekeeping, Jin Shiwan summed up several pieces of experience: beekeeping requires doing three things well, namely: scientifically choosing bee foraging sites and making every effort to make good use of nectar and pollen resources; in preventing and controlling pests and diseases, one must give priority to prevention, and do a good job of disinfection and sterilization in early spring; and be willing to spend money to introduce fine bee varieties. Over 20 years, he kept no fewer than 100 hives every year, with annual income of around 30,000 yuan. He says beekeeping is a project with little investment, quick results and high returns; keeping 10 hives of bees is equivalent to farming 1 hectare.