By PETER MALASHA –
FOREST conservation and protection of natural vegetation remains the bottom line of diversification and promotion of other farming activities such as apiculture.
Apiculture is one of the farming activities which were silent but slowly growing in Zambia.
The apiculture industry, if enhanced to greater heights, could generate the needed foreign exchange and promote social and economic development in rural communities through local employment.
Zambia offers a conducive environment for beekeeping, with abundant forest cover and indigenous knowledge and skills.
It is estimated that about 66 per cent of Zambia is covered with woodland and dry forest.
Miombo woodlands are by far the largest forest resource covering about 35.5 million hectares.
These woodlands are dominated by Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia which are preferred nectar sources for bees.
The link between forests and traditional beekeeping creates massive opportunities for promoting apiculture as an incentive for sustainable forest management.
Bee farming and honey hunting improve diets for an estimated 250,000 farmers and are a significant source of income for over 20,000 rural households in Zambia.
About 70 per cent of Zambia’s bee farmers are based in North-Western Province where the sector has been registered as the third -largest employer.
Trade of honey and beeswax provides up to 25 per cent of total annual income for tens of thousands of households and certified organic honey worth more than US$800,000, is exported every year.
In recent years, farmers around the country have taken interest in bee farming and adopting various technologies suitable for their social and economic as well as environmental conditions.
Government and donor-funded projects in all the 10 provinces are promoting wooden Kenyan beehives.
With proper management, the yields can be as high as 35 to 40 kilogrammes from a single top beehive and produce quality honey.
It is for the reason that government should come in with full force to promote apiculture activities.
In an interview, apiculture expert and trainer of trainers Davy Nyoni said government’s failure to put up deliberate strategic measures to promote apiculture has negated the growing of the industry in Zambia.
Mr Nyoni, who is also a bee farmer, said lack of policy direction through interventions was discouraging farmers from diversifying into honey production.
Mr Nyoni said there was need for the government to come up with various interventions to give direction and promote the Industry which could develop if the sector was fully promoted.
He said formulation and promotion of interventions meant to grow the bee farming Industry and honey production will see the industry blossom with value addition.
Mr Nyoni said currently bee farmers, especially small scale, were finding difficulties in marketing honey products within and outside the country.
He further said investors were also not coming to Zambia to invest in apiculture due to lack of fully implementation of a policy frame work.
Mr Nyoni hopes the United Party for National Development government would actualise the policy which previous administrations had allegedly failed to do.
He said if government could put measures and strategies aimed at attracting foreign investment in bee farming, many potential investors would have been coming to help out farmers on modern bee keeping techniques.
Mr Nyoni said the sure way to blossom beekeeping in the country was through implementation of bee keeping policy fully so as to give guidance in the industry.
He stressed that Zambian honey was on high demand due to the large percentage was coming from rural communities where organic honey was attained.
“There is so much demand of honey. The reasons are that the quality of honey which is coming from this end, be it organic, but has foreign particles because some farmers are lacking processing knowledge. Zambia as at now is behind in honey production.
“In a nutshell, l would say the quality is not impressive. It is not very attracting foreign market. We have to do much on the processing of honey and other products. But if white investors are involved they will share all those trends and reach the standard level,” he said.
Mr Nyoni further said the world market, in terms of honey production, was at high competitive level hence the need for government and stakeholders to double up efforts to meet standards.
He said it was for this reason that Honey Quality Measure (HQM), an organisation based in Lusaka which was educating farmers on how to process honey and bee wax as well as other products has come in so that at the end of the day, the standard was met.
“Honey products market are readily available in China, South Africa and the United Kingdom but what is needed is to actualise beekeeping as a reality and improve processing and production.
“Bee farmers require support from stakeholders and institutions that will give guidance in terms of marketing and quality of honey that is being produced in Zambia,” he said.
He said while honey production traditionally was used in treatment of bronchial asthma, eye diseases and many other diseases.
The greatest threat to apiculture is deforestation.
Practices such as charcoal burning, harvesting wood fuel for urban consumption, unnecessary clearing of woodland for crop production, and settlement including forest fires are a hindrance to bee farming.
Annual deforestation estimates rates in Zambia are alarmingly high at about 900,000 hectares.
And North Swaka Trust (NST), an organisation dealing in forest conservation and promoting bee keeping, has been training farmers in apiculture and those people living in the buffer zone of Mkushi north Swaka national forest reserve and Mkushi Headwaters national forest reserve.
The organisation aims at preservation, protection and regeneration of the Mkushi North Swaka and Mkushi headwaters forest reserves to better the ecosystem and livelihoods of the local communities.
Project manager Craig Stones said his organisation was promoting apiculture for the benefit of small scale farmers and the growth of the industry.
Mr Stones further said the apiculture and beehives programme was going on well in an effort to promote bee farming and conserving the forest because trees were important for bee farming.
Mr Stones added that about 2,500 beehives were distributed in forest communities and 425 small scale farmers received beehives for apiculture.
He said the move was to promote bee keeping and as a source of income to small scale farmers.
He further said NST organises market for honey and the money realised was paid back to bee keepers.
“Last December, we harvested 10,000 kilogrammes of honey. At least 80 per cent came from the communities around the forest reserves and that money went into the community’s pocket,” he said.
Mr Stones added that about K48, 000 was paid to small scale farmers for the purchase of honey harvested from their beehives.
Meanwhile, Chief Chitina of Mkushi district hailed NST for training subjects in beekeeping as well as for distribution of beehives a move he said will go a long way in promoting bee farming in the chiefdom.
“North Swaka Trust is helping communities by training them on beekeeping. They are given beehives and the community is responding well,” Chief Chitina said.
The chief added that after receiving training, his subjects were aware of the significance of trees and honey production which in turn was improving the economy at household level.