Umaisar Gull Ganie
Kulgam, Apr 15: A man from South Kashmir’s Kulgam district is making waves with a sweet and sustainable revolution.
Shabir Ahmad Itoo, a highly qualified youth from Sonigam village in Kulgam—holding a Postgraduate degree, M.Phil in Physical Education, and having cleared the SET exam—once served as a contractual college lecturer. However, his passion for nature led him to the world of beekeeping.
Shabir now uses honeybees as natural Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) in his orchard, completely eliminating the need for harmful chemical pollination. His methods are not only eco-friendly but also life-saving.
Dedicated to promoting sustainable Apis cerana beekeeping, Shabir provides high-quality bee boxes, equipment, and expert guidance to fellow enthusiasts.
He extracts honey throughout the year and has created job opportunities for four others, who now work with him. He has also started selling honeybee colonies to other orchardists for pollination purposes.
Shabir has developed a specialized swarm-catching technique to safely capture and relocate honeybee swarms. Using a combination of knowledge, skill, and the right equipment, he locates and boxes the swarm queen, encouraging the rest of the bees to follow her into a prepared beehive.
This humane method ensures the well-being of both the bees and the community while promoting healthy pollination and honey production.
He is also known for his unique ability to remove bee swarms from trees with his bare hands, without using any protective gear. Through the sale of high-quality honey, he earns a handsome income.
He added that the HADP scheme of the Agriculture Department also helped his business grow, providing him with a unit under a subsidy.
Speaking to the news agency Kashmir News Observer, he said, “Excessive use of PGRs in orchards is causing serious health issues due to harmful chemical exposure. We have forgotten the organic way, and this is a step toward reviving organic farming.”
Shabir urged farmers to avoid chemical PGRs and instead use natural pollinators like bees for better fruit yield. “You should trust these honeybees—you will see the results in both the quantity and quality of the fruit.”
He said that he has installed ten colonies of bees in his orchard and the results have been outstanding in terms of bloom and fruit structure.
“By incorporating honeybees for pollination in apple orchards, farmers can expect a better fruit set and yield. These pollinators transfer pollen between blossoms, ensuring proper fertilization, which results in higher-quality apples with improved size, shape, and color—ultimately leading to better harvests and increased profitability.”
Asked about job opportunities, he said, “At present, I employ four people. I left my college lecturer job because of the promising results in beekeeping. I was once dependent on others, and now four people work under me. This is boosting the local economy, and farmers are benefiting too.”—(KNO)
