Gunungkidul Farmers Cultivate Black Honey
GUNUNGKIDUL, AYOYOGYA.COM– A Group of Beekeepers for Sumber Rejeki Madu Manunggal utilizes an area of 600 hectares of Banaran Forest, Playen District, Gunungkidul Regency, to cultivate black honey.
Chairman of Sumber Rejeki Madu Beekeepers, Manunggal Playen Purwanto, in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta (DIY), Wednesday (10/4/2019), said that since 2017 his group has been cultivating black honey bees in the Banaran Forest.
“Initially, it was just trying to cultivate bees, but after doing it and studying it well, the results of cultivating bees are quite good. It produces quite a lot of honey and the market demand is also high,” said Purwanto.
He said that currently one honeycomb can produce approximately three to four kilograms of black honey in one year. The price of black honey per kilogram is around IDR 250,000-IDR 300,000 depending on the quality of the honey.
“The high production of honey in one hive cannot be separated from the abundant feed available in Banaran Forest,” he said.
So far, black honey consumers are only individuals. Purwanto admitted that he did not sell honey to middlemen or to large companies. This is because the group has not been able to produce large amounts of honey.
He admitted that he was overwhelmed by the demand for black honey. But when supplies run out, he will not look for it from other areas. “We do not seek honey from other regions to maintain consumer confidence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Regent of Gunung Kidul, Immawan Wahyudi, said that the district government through the relevant Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) is ready to help market the typical black honey of Playen District.
“We are ready to help with black honey marketing. Hopefully this bee cultivation will be able to provide additional income for residents in Playen. We think the marketing of black honey is not difficult because the market share is very high,” he said.
