"Fragrance of the Ancestral Land"

Gia Dien Commune, Ha Hoa District has a tradition of beekeeping and is known for its famous delicious honey. With its existing reputation in the market and the efforts of beekeepers, in 2020, the honey product "Huong Ngan Dat To" of the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative, Gia Dien Commune was recognized as a 3-star OCOP product, thereby helping farmers increase their income, enhance the value and brand of local specialties, and actively contribute to the new rural construction movement.

The 3-star OCOP product Huong Ngan Dat To is available at the counters of agricultural products stores, clean food stores and large markets in and outside the province.

The advantage of many fruit farms such as lychee, longan, grapefruit, orange in the communes and near Ao Chau lagoon area has created a rich source of flowers for the beekeeping profession in Ha Hoa district to develop more and more. With a long tradition in the profession, Gia Dien commune people have accumulated valuable experiences and learned scientific and technical advances to create natural honey products of superior quality. Previously, honey products were mainly made to serve the needs of the people in the commune, the profits were not large.

In 2010, realizing that the honey beekeeping model brought high economic efficiency, low investment capital, and low risk, the commune government mobilized people to participate in many training courses, learn care techniques as well as orient the development process; at the same time, established the Solidarity Bee Cooperative in Zone 1 with the aim of strengthening the connection and mutual assistance among beekeeping households, gradually changing the production mindset towards commodities, and improving the quality of honey.

Currently, the Gia Dien Commune Doan Ket Bee Cooperative has 7 members. The smallest member has a few dozen hives, the largest member has up to 100 hives. The main products of the cooperative are seasonal flower honey and mixed flower honey.

According to the experience of long-time beekeeping members of the Cooperative, the best honey harvest season usually lasts from March to the end of May every year. Therefore, not only do bees collect pollen and make honey from fruit growing areas in the commune, beekeepers in Gia Dien also move bee colonies to fruit orchards and farms in neighboring communes and districts. Thanks to that, bees can always find the best sources of pollen, and the quality of honey is always guaranteed to be natural and pure.

During the harvesting process, the beekeepers at the cooperative only use the layers of beeswax that have been sealed, when the honey is old and viscous enough, the honey is sweet and not sour. On each layer of bees, the worker will use a special tool to remove the covering layer so that the smooth honey can flow out. Next, the beeswax will be put into a centrifuge to extract the honey, bottled to ensure hygiene and safety for long-term preservation.

During the entire process of collecting honey and bottling, all tools are processed to ensure food safety and hygiene regulations, thanks to which honey with the brand name "Huong Ngan Dat To" always ensures quality and even after a long time, it still retains its viscosity, characteristic sweetness and does not precipitate. The price of honey is also maintained by the Cooperative at 150-200 thousand VND/liter depending on the time and flower season of the year.

Identifying the biggest goal of the OCOP Program is to awaken the advantages and strengths of the locality to create typical products, so in the plan to build a brand and enhance the value of "Huong Ngan Dat To" honey, Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative has worked with the local government to promote and advertise through information channels and social networks, bringing the product closer to consumers. In addition to consumption in the district and province, "Huong Ngan Dat To" honey products of Gia Dien commune are also available at agricultural product stores, clean food stores and large markets outside the province.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ky - Head of the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative Group said: "The honey beekeeping profession mainly utilizes completely natural raw materials, creating a stable source of income. Every month, the Cooperative Group regularly meets to discuss and exchange beekeeping experiences to improve the quality of honey products, meeting the increasing demand of consumers. In the coming time, the members of the cooperative group will continue to learn and improve honey care and harvesting techniques, invest in more machinery, improve product quality, and at the same time recruit new members, increase bee colonies, strengthen links to expand the consumption market to some neighboring provinces such as: Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang...".

The honey product “Hương Ngàn Đất Tổ” of the Doan Ket Beekeeping Cooperative, Gia Dien Commune in particular and Ha Hoa honey products in general have been affirming their brand with increasingly high quality to consumers. From the effectiveness of beekeeping, Ha Hoa District will continue to mobilize people to exploit the advantages of hills and forests, increase bee herds, apply science and technology in caring for, developing bee herds and exploiting honey and other products; support channels for production loans, create livelihoods, solve jobs, and increase income for people.

Thu Giang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/huong-ngan-dat-to-216647.htm