Beekeepers look for investors, markets

The country’s beekeepers have showcased their products in one day fair in a bid to identify strategies and investments needed to unleash the potential of the sector in the country.

The beekeepers exhibited their products in Singida over the weekend to mark their day where it’s the sector is estimated to have some 2.0 million individuals employed in its value chain.

Speaking on the commemoration of World Bee Day 2023, International Trade Centre (ITC) National Technical Advisor, Aina Dallo said that the purpose of the event was to allow both expert facilitators, key stakeholders, and BEVAC project beneficiaries to engage directly and identify opportunities for the sector’s economic growth.

“The BEVAC [World Bee Day, the Beekeeping Value Chain] project,” she said, “helps stakeholders in the beekeeping sector build capacity to identify and optimise opportunities for the growth of their honey products locally and equips them to produce quality products that can compete in the international market.”

The exhibition in Singida was themed ‘Bees for Environmental Conservation and Food Security’.

The BEVAC project is funded by the European Union (EU) and jointly implemented by the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Thus the exhibition showcased their progress and raise awareness of the importance of bees to the environment, ensuring the sustainability and efficiency of agri-food systems.

BEVAC Project Manager Martin Mgallah from Enabel outlined that some of the key priorities were identifying strategies and investments needed to unleash the potential of the beekeeping sector while ensuring the conservation of the environment through the allocation of protected areas for bee reserves and beekeeping zones.

“Honey production is a viable economic activity providing incomes and employment, especially to women and youth,” he said.

The project aims to ensure good quality honey is produced in an environmentally sustainable manner that leads to increased market penetration.

The overall objective is to enhance the beekeeping industry’s contribution to inclusive economic growth in Tanzania.

This year’s Global Bee Day celebrations are aimed at highlighting the importance of bees to the environment and people.

The country’s beekeeping is generating about 61.4 million US dollars of honey and beeswax produced annually.