APPROPRIATE BEEKEEPING TECHNOLOGY IN CENTRAL AFRICA by D Wainwright
Central Africa has a widespread tradition of producing large quantities of honey and wax and the region remains the major supplier of beeswax to the world market. Most of this wax is produced from traditional hives despite recent efforts to make modern and intermediate technology hives available to small-scale producers. In many cases traditional technology remains the most profitable to the beekeeper. Why do beekeepers prefer to continue with traditional hives? The answer lies in the economic characteristics of the different technologies, the labour and investment requirements and the effect of ecological conditions. Using this information a theoretical model can be constructed to allow comparison between incomes to the beekeeper. Using data from North-Western Zambia the model shows that beekeeping with traditional hives is more profitable except in extremely favourable conditions. This accounts for the popularity of bark hive beekeeping and the failure of modern beekeeping in the area. the North West Province of Zambia beekeeping is a traditional activity: using hives made entirely of materials gathered from forests beekeepers are able to produce beeswax on a large scale. In the 19th and early 20th centuries beeswax production was the main industry of the Tegion and supplied colonialist powers with much needed raw material. Production was by the thousands of smallscale, part-time beekeepers for whom the wax was a valuable commodity to exchange for manufactured items. Beekeeping also produced honey. As much honey as possible was made into the In
a
ject within different groups of the population?
d) Which part of the population would benefit most from beekeeping devel-
opment? Which target group should be chosen? When the feasibility study is ready and the target group has been selected, the Project can go on with experiments in a small pilot project, and after a few years further evaluations can guide the project on a larger scale. Only at this stage can a profitable beekeeping system be ready to be distributed among people on a wide scale. Consequently, honey and wax, as well as agricultural production will increase to the benefit of poor farmers, landless people and the whole of society.
Conclusion Identifying technology appropriate for
beekeeping development programmes becomes easier when planners have a deep understanding of the biology of honeybees, and of the socio-economic and cultural implications of different technologies. A worldwide interchange of information on the successes and failures in beekeeping development would also be of great value in the search for appropriate beekeeping techNology. This article is abbreviated from the paper given by Mr Svensson at the Fourth International
Conference on Apiculture in Tropical Climates in Cairo last November. The full paper will be published in the Conference Proceedings,
available shortly from IBRA.
famous honey beer, but during plentiful seasons beekeepers had no alternative but to squeeze honey onto the forest floor, keeping only the wax. The bees would soon find the honey and “recycle” it. By 1978 the beekeeping industry had declined in the area and was only practised by a dwindling population of older men. At that time an Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was being established at Kabompo by the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development with the assistance of the German Agency for Technical Co- operation, GTZ. The entire local population felt that beekeeping was an underutilised resource: revitalisation of beekeeping was a priority. After analysing the situation the IRDP implemented a project to help increase incomes from beekeeping. The existing bark hive technology proved to be an adequate base to enable the beekeepers to expand production and attract new recruits to their groups. The major constraint was lack of access both locally and overseas to major markets for honey. A mobile system was therefore set up to provide easy access to a marketing point. Producer prices were made attractive and responsive to the market situation. This systern eventually took the form of a limited company owned jointly by the beekeepers and District Councils, to ensure continued profitability and local accountability. Results so far have been positive, with honey production and the number of participating beekeepers increasing.
Attempts to introduce modern technology: experts proved wrong Initial plans to increase benefits to the rural poor through beekeeping had as-
sumed that this could be done only by substituting the traditional hive design with more modern technology: the box hive. This approach has been implemented in many African countries and is often official government policy. However the results were unsatisfactory, the small-scale producer was unable to operate the new technology profitably without support from loans, subsidies and technical assistance. Most of these hives are now abandoned or put to a
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Traditional and modern hives in the same tree. A useful chance to compare technologies. different use.
Traditional beekeeping produces the majority of honey and wax in Africa today and virtually all subsistence farmers and beekeepers use this technology. Where the beekeeper is in a position to make a choice, the traditional technology has proved the most profitable in terms of the return for labour and capital invested. Income from traditional beekeeping is less dependent on optimum environmental conditions making it profitable even in marginal areas and producing income during poor seasons when beekeepers with modern hives would make a loss. Modem technology remains the most productive and profitable for larger scale operations which are provided with adequate investment and appropriate management.
Beekeeping and life-style For beekeepers of North West Province, beekeeping is not only a source of income, it is also a way of life. Therefore the decision to adopt a new technology is not made on purely financial grounds. If beekeepers take up a new technology
