Weather Woes Hit Kashmir Honey Production Hard
Abid Ali, a beekeeper from Gangu village located about 30 km south of Srinagar, returned from his migratory beekeeping in Rajasthan and Punjab with high hopes. However, the weather turned against him. He said that out of more than 150 bee colonies, he could only extract 30 kg of honey, compared to the usual 100 kg.
According to a report by BusinessLine, this season’s extended rains and low temperatures prevented bees from leaving their hives for long periods, resulting in insufficient nectar collection. The flowering of Acacia trees, which produces premium quality honey, was also poor this year. Acacia honey is known for its light colour, unique taste, and high demand in the market, but production has been much lower than expected.
In recent years, the honey sector in Jammu and Kashmir had shown remarkable growth under various government schemes like the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme and the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission. Official data showed honey production rising from around 2,200 metric tonnes in 2023 to over 3,895 metric tonnes in 2025 — a growth of more than 75 percent in three years. However, this year’s weather has delivered a setback to that progress.
Nazim Nazir, Chairman of Al Nahal Producer Company, a leading beekeeping organisation in the valley, said that due to low production, many beekeepers have not even been able to recover the cost of transportation and maintenance of their colonies. He added that the impact is particularly severe on young people who had invested in this sector in recent years.
Experts point out that beekeeping in Kashmir is highly sensitive to weather because bees mainly depend on Acacia and apple blossoms. Changing weather patterns are making migratory beekeeping more difficult and less sustainable.
This situation highlights the growing challenge of climate uncertainty for Kashmir’s beekeepers and the need for better weather-resilient practices and support systems to protect this important rural livelihood.
