First Apimondia Symposium on African Bees & Beekeeping

Opened by Tanzania’s Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, himself a keen beekeeper, the Symposium that took place in Arusha, Tanzania in the second week of November, was smoothly organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Several hundred people attended the Symposium, with most African nations represented. The discussions and workshops provided testament to the fact that Africa’s honey bees are healthy and resilient to climate changes and pests and diseases. African honey bee products are diverse, high quality, chemicalfree and in high demand.

The Symposium’s Workshops were extremely popular

PHOTO © BfD

Summary of discussions at the Symposium

Issue: Conservation

Challenges:

-Loss of bee forage and bees through deforestation, fire, charcoal and other incompatible land use.

Recommendation:

-Establish bee reserves to conserve bee forage and bee populations.

-Plant trees suitable for bee forage and compatible with the local environment.

Issue: Market

Challenges:

-The international, regional and national demand exceeds supply.

-Domestic prices are high compared with the international market.

-Lack of investment at all stages of the supply chain.

Recommendation:

-Investment in supply chain development.

-Ensure availability of appropriate financial services and suitable products for the apiculture industry.

-Promote the value of African bee products to access niche and highvalue markets.

-Explore bee-product diversification based on market studies.

Issue: Pollination

Challenges:

-Pollination services are little developed and this income generating opportunity is not utilised.

Recommendation:

-Carry out cost-benefit analysis of pollination services provision.

Issue: Bee health

Challenges:

-Presence of Varroa mites. Pressure on beekeepers to apply treatments.

-Pesticides are a growing problem in agricultural landscapes.

Recommendation:

-African honey bee populations are resilient and adapting to climate change and Varroa mites. We must maintain the African gene pool and never import bees. Chemical treatments should not be applied but we can instead rely on the genetic resilience and good adaptation of African bees.

-Build dialogue between beekeepers and farmers and discuss integrated pest management. Develop and disseminate guidelines about preventing contamination of bees and bee products.

-More studies needed to build the evidence base for honey bee health.

Issue: Beekeeping technology

Challenges:

-Different approaches are being used and promoted with mixed results. There is lack of clarity about the advantages and disadvantages of different hive-types and associated equipment.

Recommendation:

-Beekeeping technology needs to be understood in the context of the whole beekeeping system and not just the hive-type.

-Adoption of good beekeeping practices that incorporate indigenous knowledge, technologies and experiences.

-The beekeeping system needs to take into consideration the available resources, the environment, the infrastructure and the preferences of the beekeepers.

Issue: Sector co-ordination

Challenges:

-Lack of co-ordination within the sector.

-Conflicting and duplicating development efforts.

Recommendation:

-Build and strengthen national co-ordinating apex bodies, which can represent the interests of the stakeholders and coordinate development of the sector.

-Build strong links between grassroots community groups and associations and national apex bodies.

-Communicate effectively with development partners to ensure that their support is strategically targeted.