Apiculture or bee farming is relatively a new phenomenon in this country. However, in the last two decades or so the sector has witnessed significant growth despite the rather informal and unorganized nature of the sector. Bangladesh has great potential to become a major honey producer in the world. The quality of honey produced in Bangladesh is of international standard. Bee cultivation can also help supplement the income of farmers with crop loss. 

Wild bee harvesting used to be the only source of honey. However these days a number of mobile farmers from various places move from district to district to find the areas where flowers are available in abundance and they can grow honey with their pet bees. They usually assemble and set up their wooden boxes with artificial beehives near the places like a mustard field, a cropland of coriander or black seeds and lychee gardens to collect quality honey during the peak season which last from around mid-November till the beginning of May of the next year.

Considering the number of people already in the business, the low financial requirement and low labour need, the business has a promising future for those already in the business and also people who want to join. Nevertheless, the beekeepers sometimes are faced with problems like lack of fund, incidence of pests and predators, non-colonisation of hives, inadequate technical skill, lack of information and indiscriminate pesticide use etc. Bee-keeping is a viable economic and income generating activity if several factors are attended to. Indeed, it needs good bee management, the use of the local vegetable resources and an adaptation to climate conditions.

Honey is a much sought-after food item and there is a high demand in the local and foreign markets. Also in demand are other products that the hive produces like wax, royal jelly, bee pollen, etc. While the honey growers can make good amount of profit by selling honey, scientists suggest that bee farming benefits crops a lot. Mustard seed and berry cultivation and bee farming can go hand in hand because the bees help pollination of the flowers boosting mustard and berry production. So honey farming can be an enterprise of possibility for many self-dependent, freedom loving youths and such initiative will ultimately contribute to the economic development of our country.