adminJeffrey Gogo Climate Story
Maize and tobacco farming is ubiquitous in Goromonzi but there is a new buzz – beekeeping (apiculture) – that is developing in this prime farming district north-east of Harare. This is a smart climate strategy. A group of 22 smallholder farmers resettled on four hectares of land each at Proton Farm in 2004 are earning money from selling honey, and more, as rural households look for ways to earn money.
The Pfuma Co-operative started the project with 32 bee-hives last year; today the hives have doubled to 63, in a case where families have successfully diversified from the core food and cash crops, susceptible to climate shocks like drought.
On the average, each hive produces 15kg of honey per harvest, said Mr David Musungo, the co-operative’s chairman who is also into piggery, maize and soya bean production.
That’s nearly a tonne of the nutritious sweet liquid from the 63 hives or $6,300 of income shared equally among the co-operative’s members at any single harvest, and or reinvested, wholly or partially, into the scheme.
Harvesting usually occurs after six months. To date, Pfuma Co-operative had three harvests, raking in revenue upwards of $15 000, conservatively, or $681 per member. The next harvest will be in October.
To get the project running, each member invested just $52. The farmers sell the honey directly on the local market. It is packaged in 300ml bottles, each costing $2.
Markets are not an issue. They are secure due to high demand. The apostolic sects are an important market, in addition to other individual and corporate sources.
“The demand for honey on the local market is extremely high,” Mr Musungo said. “It was quite surprising that since venturing into beekeeping, we have never managed to meet demand, especially from Vapostori who use honey for medicinal and religious purposes.
“Our main aim is to be able to export once we boost our volumes.”
Farmers at Pfuma Co-operative are seeing improvements in income generation in between the main planting seasons, helping to ease poverty.
Technical support came from the Forestry Commission and Ruzivo Trust, a not-for-profit organization based in Harare.
Ruzivo established five demonstration sites “where farmers get hands-on beekeeping experience.”
“We used discovery-based learning approaches, or ‘learning by doing’,” Ruzivo Trust programme assistant, Ms Chipo Gono, said by email on Thursday.
“We have observed that when crop production alone cannot provide adequate food security, beekeeping provides a feasible diversification option.
“It is low cost, low risk and requires minimal land and labour, making it viable for young and old alike, and other disadvantaged groups irrespective of their socio-economic and political status.”
Wider benefits
Bees produce much more than honey. Products such as beeswax are useful for the cosmetics industry while farmers can earn money by “making (and selling) their own candles, wax, soap and skin lotions at the household level.”
Bees are also stinging the menace of deforestation, one of Zimbabwe’s biggest environmental headaches and a major driver in the emission of climate change-causing greenhouse gases.
This is particularly true for the farmers at Pfuma Cooperative. “By keeping bees, we have become more conscious of the need to protect the natural environment,” boasted Mr Musungo.
“The cutting down of trees or starting of wild fires is now of personal importance.
“We are now forced to ensure that fire guards are constructed on my own farm and in the entire community to make sure we do not lose the flowers, which provide nectar to the bees.”
This is an unexpected outcome, said Ms Gono, but one that greatly improves biodiversity conservation.
“When farmers learn about the value of trees as a source of bee forage, they are also less likely to continue with destructive activities such as charcoal burning and hunting and even begin to plant more trees,” she stressed.
“They recognise that protected environments are good for bees, and the growing of bee-friendly crops like sunflower and alfalfa could further increase honey production.”
The contribution made by bees in the continual existence of many plant and tree species is valuable, but largely goes unnoticed. This happens during pollination, a process of plant fertilisation of which bees is the main agent.
Mr Christopher Magadza, a professor of entomology (insects) said on Friday “bees were important for pollination.”
As climate change bites, causing massive crop losses, beekeeping could help boost food production (through pollination) and assist families adapt.
The option to diversify into bee farming means a diversification from dependance on other agricultural crops that are prone to climate and weather vagaries such as droughts. Incomes from bees may bridge such failures.
“There is no doubt that honey production presents an enormous potential for achieving food security in Africa,” said Ms Gono, adding “and family farmers in Goromonzi have started towards this goal, but a journey in which their footprint will not prejudice future generations.
“Bees are self-sufficient and do not need constant attention. Beekeeping does not compete for resources with other types of agriculture.
“Most of the necessary equipment, hives, smokers, protective clothing and veils can be made by local carpenters, tinsmiths and tailors. This adds to the rural economy.”
Apiculture conference
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe will host the fourth edition of the All-Africa International Honey Exposition following its successful bid at the last meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This bi-annual event will take place in Harare between October 4 and 12 this year.
At least 3,000 delegates drawn from 26 honey-producing countries in the world are expected to attend, a statement from the organisers said last week.
The Ministry of Agriculture, ApiTrade Africa, Beekeepers Association of Zimbabwe, Kolline and Hemed Ltd and Media4Nature are the hosting partners.
Among other things, the meeting will seek to address challenges faced, mainly, by smallscale Afrcan honey producers in exporting their products to the European Union, a key market.
“In the EU, the preferred market for African honey and beeswax exporters, there is a general negative (and wrong) perception that African honey and beeswax are smoky, dirty and of inferior quality because the harvesting and handling processes are rudimentary,” the statement said.
“This is further compounded by the fact that all the European importers in Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany and Switzerland, except Tropical Forest Products Ltd of United Kingdom, do not market the products appropriately.
“They use the products to blend other products and in confectioneries and do not say anything uniquely positive of the African honey and beeswax – they are shy to relate their products to Africa.”
Honeybees are estimated to be contributing over $200 billion to the global economy through crop pollination and production of honey, beeswax and other bee products for the market.
In Sub Saharan Africa, where the majority of people live on $1 or less a day, beekeeping is important as a source of food, employment, environmental conservation and diversification of the export base.
Across Africa, women are actively involved in beekeeping and processing of bee products.
The industry involves a very large number of micro-level actors such as input providers, beekeepers, processors, transporters, wholesalers, retailers, exporters in the rural communities.
The government of Tanzania says two million of its people are involved in beekeeping and related activities. At least 50 000 people are estimated to be involved in beekeeping in Zimbabwe.
God is faithful.
Online Reporter