Aneesh Kunnapally, a beekeeper from Kerala, began bee-keeping at the age of 14, and decades later, his passion has grown into an enterprise in Vandoor, Malappuram, producing Nilambur Honey and supplying bee boxes and colonies. He was awarded Kerala's Best Bee-keeper honour.  

With support from his family and the Agriculture Department, Aneesh has turned a teenage fascination into a thriving enterprise. His enterprise now produces up to 20 tonnes of honey a year and supports more than 20 workers.

Aneesh said, "I have been in this field since I was 14, for the past 33 years. I have kept around 2,500 forest honeybee colonies and over 1,000 dwarf honeybee boxes. It is with the support of my family, the Kerala government, Horticorp and the Kerala Agriculture Department, I was able to achieve this award, and I am very happy about it." 

Following the state honour, Aneesh hopes to inspire more people to take up bee-keeping and adopt scientific methods to improve honey production.

He said, "For those who are newly entering this field, I hope the award I have received will serve as an inspiration. If it can encourage them, I would consider that a great achievement. That is what I want to say about this award."