BEEKEEPING
&
DEVELOPMENT 47
NEWS AROUND «_ AFGHANISTAN Fifty colonies of bees were purchased and transported from Pakistan to Badakhshan in the north-east of Afghanistan in 1992 and 1993. The areas most suited to beekeeping are those at lower altitudes, for example in the Jurm District. Thirty hives were initially distributed to ten families in five villages. Now 30 families in nine villages have 168 hives, with no further input from Afghanaid other than training. On average 19.3 kg of honey is harvested annually from each of the colonies in Jurm, and beekeeping is locally recognised as an
PHOTOGRAPHS
AFGHANAID/ESMATULLAH SHAHPOOR
industry.
Obaidullah from Hesarak
Obaidullah from Jurm with some of his hives
make from selling honey I have been able to buy ghee, rice, wheat, clothes and oil for my family. Without this money, it would be very difficult, maybe even impossible for us to make ends meet”.
Afghanaid introduced beekeeping into their work in 1992 (see B&D29): this has proved a very successful initiative.
village in Jurm District was given four hives by Afghanaid. By his second year he was keeping ten hives with a total yield of 130 kg of honey, 90 kg of which he sold. A kilogram of honey sells for 250,000 Afghanis {about USS$4). When asked how the bees had affected his life he replied “First of all we use the honey within our family for food. It is also good for our health. With the money I
Fazil was given three hives in 1994. By the end of 1997 he had 40 hives and explained, “I am 18 years old and am one of a family of ten. My brother and | look after the hives together. We sell the honey and surplus hives locally which means our family now has a much higher income. We get 20-30 ke of honey from each hive”
Fazil lives in Baharak (a town of about 800 families) where there are now over 1000 hives. Baharak is home to Afghanaid’s “mother” stock which is used to supply bees to families in the Argu and Warduj areas of Badakhsan.
Yvonne Lane, Afghanaid
CAMEROON In May 1998 APICA (Association for the Promotion of Community Initiatives) organised a workshop, attended by local farmers, beekeepers, and representatives of NGOs, on the beekeeping potential in Adamaoua Province, Ngaoundéré.
The main objectives of the workshop were to analyse beekeeping practices, potential and problems in the Province, and to encourage the different groups concerned to find new
perspectives concerning honey production and consumption. TWELVE
Adolphe Libong,
B&D's
Correspondent in Cameroon
|
Afghanaid provides training and regular support to everyone who receives hives from them. There is an agreement that for each colony given one colony will be returned to Afghanaid the following year. In this way the programme is extended to other villages.
Beekeeping training in Jurm, Badakhshan
During the workshop, Sucré-Villages (a networking organisation offering aid to beekeeping initiatives) discussed bee products in terms of social, economic and environmental worth, in addition to their use. The links between beekeeping and the environment were also explained.
CUBA Apimondia is the World Federation of Beekeeping Associations. In February 1998 Apimondia’s Commission for Apitherapy organised a working meeting in Cuba. Cuba was selected as the meeting site because of the apitherapy research, and the determination to use natural medicines that exists there. The first three days were devoted to the presentation of papers, the fourth day was for field visits, and the last day was a working meeting. One objective of the meeting was to establish for Cuba a pharmacopoeia of the products of the hive: an “api-pharmacopoeia”. Dr Theodore Cherbuliez, President of the Commission of Apitherapy of Apimondia
GHANA Two Melipona stingless bee species found Two economically important stingless bee species have been identified in Ghana by Brother Anthony Addai of St Anthony of Padua Friary, Sunyani. The two species, Meliponula bocandei and Meliponula nebulata were among six other stingless bee species collected from the tropical forests of Ghana. Five Hypotrigona species including Hypotrigona braunsi were also found. One other interesting stingless bee species that builds vertical combs made up of cells similar to that of Apis mellifera was found to exist in many parts of Ghana. It was identified as Dactylurina staudingeri. All the stingless bee species were scientifically identified with the assistance of Dr David Roubik of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, USA.
A Bees for Development publication
