Organising Beekeepers to Generate Income from Bee Products in Solya ward, Manyoni District Tanzania

Beekeeping is a livelihood improvement potential that is yet to be fully utilized in most rural areas of Tanzania. Majority of rural communities practice beekeeping mainly for domestic consumption and rarely for commercial purposes. This potential (beekeeping) has failed to improve beekeepers’ income due to inadequate knowledge and skills among the beekeepers in processing bee products. As a result, honey produced in rural areas does not meet minimum standards required at national and international market. However the challenges in bee products presentation and market issues, beekeeping has remain among the common interventions practiced in rural areas because it is easier to manage compared to other activities like farming or livestock keeping which require some big initial and management cost. Hence, through capacity building, beekeepers can develop the necessary attitude, knowledge and skills for improving bee products as an economic enterprise. After community needs assessment which involved Solya ward beekeepers and non-beekeepers in the area, the study on designing and implementing a project for improving capacity of beekeeping group in processing and packaging of bee products was prioritized. The target group has 40 members and it is located at Solya ward, Manyoni district in Singida region. The overall objective for establishing the project is to establish a reliable source of income generation to beekeepers through improving the quality of bee products. In achieving this objective, capacity building on bee products harvesting, extraction, processing and packaging, marketing and group management have been emphasized. These training sessions and materials equipped have enabled the beekeepers from Solya ward to have a viable project for increasing their income.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

The Open University of Tanzania

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• John, Joseph

• 330 Economics

Language dc:language

en