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African nations urged to embrace apiculture to help reduce poverty

Xinhua, September 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Agricultural experts have cited beekeeping and honey production as key towards eradicating poverty among rural farmers across African continent.

The experts made the observation on Sunday during the closure of the 5th All-Africa International Honey Exposition and the 3rd Continental General Assembly (GA) of the African Apiculture Platform (APP) in Kigali.

"Most of the rural communities in Africa are not aware of the immense benefits accruing from beekeeping and honey production. They depend solely on agriculture for survival without engaging in other income generating activities like honey production," said Bosco Okello, chief executive, ApiTrade Africa.

He added that apiculture is often overlooked and left untapped in most African economies as it is seen as a small investment venture.

Apiculture is the practice of keeping bees as well as the manufacturing of honey and beeswax. ApiTrade Africa is an NGO that specializes in developing trade in bee products from Africa.

Jean Claude Kayisinga, Rwanda's permanent secretary for agriculture and animal resources, said that honey continues to be a popular commodity across the globe, and poor rural farmers throughout Africa have not got a chance to take up the practice of beekeeping to earn money and fight poverty in their households.

"We always talk about big investments to eradicate poverty in Africa, but small investments like beekeeping and honey production have not been made a priority to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty. This is the reason why apiculture in Africa is poorly practiced and not developed at all," he said.

Kayisinga noted that African governments' efforts to reduce poverty, especially in the rural areas, could be given a boost if apiculture or beekeeping were taken as a serious venture.

At the conference, agriculturists argued that beekeeping and honey production could provide self-employment and reliable higher incomes if adequately supported to develop.

Beekeeping is cost effective and not strenuous, requiring the use of relatively simple equipment, they added.

Rwanda is hosting the 7-day continental forum from Sept. 21. The forum brought together some 5,000 bee keepers, honey dealers, agriculturists, officials and development partners from across Africa and beyond to promote apiculture and share knowledge on trade and business. Enditem