Zoom in on Togo

Size

56,785 km²

Population

3,643,000

Location

Togo is in West Africa. To the North is Burkina Faso, Benin is to the East and Ghana to the West.

Main agriculture

Most people are employed in agriculture. Main crops include cocoa, coffee, copra, cotton, groundnuts, maize and palm kernels.

Honeybees

Apis mellifera adansonii

Beekeeping

The collection of honey is time-honoured activity of honey gatherers in Togo. Traditionally this honey is used in ceremonies and the preparation of medicines.

Frame hive beekeeping is only practised by a few individuals scattered here and there throughout the country. Beekeeping is found mostly in the South of the country and in much of the Central Region.

Swarming occurs throughout the year and does not have a fixed period. The most common time is from September to December.

Problems

The lack of working materials in the local market is serious handicap to the promotion of beekeeping activities. Due to the devaluation of the currency, the cost of imported items has become exorbitant and exceeds the resources of those beekeepers who want to use imported equipment.

Number of beekeepers

Unknown

Melliferous vegetation

Melliferous plants are abundant throughout the country and particularly in the Plateau Region. Seventy-three melliferous plants were identified during a study in 1991. The major melliferous plants in the northern and central parts of the country are Azadirachta indica (neem), Parkia biglobosa (néré), and Vitellaria paradoxa (karité). In the South are: Acacia sp, Citrus sp, Cocos nucifera, Eucalyptus torreliana and Mangifera indica.

Honey production

The period of harvest is December to April. The average harvest per colony per year is 10 kg.

Research

In January 1992 Centre was created at the University of Benin in Lomé to promote research into indigenous technologies. This Centre studies the eco-ethology of bees in different regions of Togo.

We are grateful to Mr Poutouli and Ms Homa Smith for providing the information and illustrations.