Has the era of beekeepers replaced fishermen in the Aral Sea region? Beekeeping in the Aral Sea region has found new life after the Aral Sea disappeared by 90%. Its scientific foundations in Central Asia were laid by the great Uzbek scientist Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicenna), who poetically called honey “hidden dew from flowers.” Today, it is not only honey production, but also an important factor in the development of the region. Beekeeping supports agriculture – one of the key economic drivers of the country, ensures food security, preserves biodiversity and serves as a source of income for local residents.
A striking example of the development of the industry is the story of Bakhtiyar Dzhubaev. He began his professional career in 1986 as a simple honey packer, and three years later, at the age of 23, thanks to his hard work and professionalism, he headed a production workshop that reached an annual production volume of 60 tons of honey. For more than 20 years, he successfully managed state production, but during a difficult transition period, the enterprise ceased its operations, including due to the wear and tear of production equipment. The beginning of the 90s became a turning point in his fate. During the period of mass emigration, Bakhtiyar remained in Uzbekistan: during the day he worked at a construction site, and in the evenings he developed his own apiary, starting with 10 hives and adopting the experience of beekeepers from other regions. “There are many farmers in our country, but only a few are engaged in beekeeping – it is like jewelry that requires special skills,” notes Bakhtiyar. “A novice beekeeper needs time to understand all the subtleties: from the placement of hives to the behavior of the bee colony. But after the first successful honey collection, this business becomes part of life.” 2017 was a turning point in the history of Uzbek beekeeping. With the launch of a state program to support the industry, new opportunities for beekeepers appeared, and the annual fair in Tashkent brought together beekeepers from all over the country. In the same year, cooperation with UNDP began, opening a new stage in the development of Bakhtiyar’s farm. From a simple listener of training seminars, he grew into a mentor for a new generation of beekeepers. Within the framework of the UNDP project “Project for Supporting Self-Sufficiency through Climate-Resilient Agriculture in the Aral Sea Region” with financial support from the Government of Japan, Bakhtiyar’s farm received modern equipment for honey packaging and opened a workshop for the production of hives. “Thanks to the new equipment, productivity has increased significantly – now more than 50 kilograms of honey are packaged per hour,” emphasizes Bakhtiyar. “And the creation of our own workshop has solved a serious problem with hives. Previously, I had to buy them only in Tashkent. During the last purchase, one hive cost 400 thousand soums – for a hundred hives I had to pay 40 million. Now we not only produce them ourselves, but also provide other beekeepers in the region, creating new jobs.”
