News

Benin

The Association Nationale des Apiculteurs du Bénin is working hard to protect bees. Scaly ant-eaters, frogs, grey lizards, insect pests (including wasps, giant and red ants) and toads attack and kill bees. Cattle, horses and pigs can knock over hives and then lick up the honey.

Beekeepers put scarecrows on plantations to frighten animals away. They hang their hives 90-120 cm above the ground. No bee diseases have been detected in Benin. Reported by Alphonse Dansou in Coraf Action, October-December 1999.

Cameroon

Beekeepers trained in Buea Sub Division

About 100 beekeepers have recently undertaken training during two workshops facilitated by the Forestry, Agriculture, Animal & Fishery Network. One workshop was designed to create awareness of beekeeping as an income-generating activity for school leavers and unemployed young people.

The second workshop, held on the slopes of Mount Cameroon, attracted 60 participants: some local villagers and honey hunters. They heard how beekeeping can increase income and how to practise honey hunting that protects the environment.

Both workshops taught construction and use of top-bar hives, api-agroforestry and the use of hive products, particularly propolis and beeswax which have previously been always thrown away.

Material supplied by Lyonga William Mumbe, Beekeeping Supervisor, FAAFNET

Ghana

A peaceful co-existence! This picture* sent in by our Ghana Correspondent, Kwame Aidoo, shows stingless bees Meliponula nebulata occupying the same hive as African honeybees Apis mellifera adansonii.

*Please see the original journal article to see the picture

Sierra Leone

Request for support for training

Bo Beekeepers’ Co-operative Society has been assisting rural communities of the Southern Province in beekeeping. Our organisation has been hit hard during the civil strife. The office in Bo with all our beekeeping equipment ranging from bee suits to extractors was burnt. Four apiaries located in Pujehun District each with six bee hives were destroyed. Worst of all the organisation tragically lost its pioneer and first Executive Director, Mr William Dent, a Liberian refugee and professional beekeeper who was killed in a rebel ambush between Freetown and Bo. ! write to formally request all readers and well-wishers for financial assistance to enable one of our extension staff to participate in the Beekeeping in Rural Development Course in July 2000. Your assistance (however small) will go a long way in training one staff member to become as competent as the late William. | hereby authorise that assistance be directed to Bees for Development, and | thank you.

Senesi Fawundu, Executive Director, Bo Beekeepers’ Co-operative Society Ltd

Tanzania

"Mlonge" Moringa oleifera is now being planted by many villagers in Tabora and neighbouring regions. Oil suitable for cooking purposes can be extracted from the seeds. The tree blossoms twice a year and its flowers produce plenty of nectar for bees to collect. The tree can produce seeds for about forty years. This is good news for beekeepers and Tanzania!

Beekeepers will benefit from this product that can be collected from their own fields close to their homes. The leaves, roots and seed husks make good animal feed, and the tender green leaves and green beans make excellent vegetables for people.

Mlonge grows well in sandy and dry areas where other crops cannot grow. It is a blessing to have the seeds in Tabora where lack of rain is such a major problem. | hope honey and beeswax collection will increase and that Tabora Beekeepers’ Co-operative Society will benefit from the collection of honey and beeswax in the villages, rather than the collection of "wild" honey.

Justin Madaha, B&D’s Correspondent in Tanzania

Tobago

The Tobago Apicultural Society and the Tourism and Industrial Development Company co-hosted a three-day Workshop on soap making in Scarborough in February 2000. The Workshop was facilitated by Florida International Volunteer Corps who contracted Debra Graybeal from the USA to conduct the Workshop. Nineteen participants had hands-on practice in producing soaps using beeswax, honey, locally processed bay oil, aloe vera, and other natural ingredients. Participants were chosen on the basis of their demonstrated desire to pursue value added manufacture of locally made products. The Workshop was the first in a series of joint TAS/TIDCO initiatives for beekeepers that are designed to develop new value-added products. The initiatives being pursued are consistent with the resolutions on “business practices and profitability” passed at the First Caribbean Beekeeping Congress held in November 1998.

Gladstone Solomon, B&D’s Correspondent in Tobago, and President of Tobago Apicultural Society

United Kingdom

Over 50 participants gathered at Long Ashton Research Station near Bristol in April for a one day meeting on The Role of Beekeeping in Development Programmes. The Seminar was organised jointly by Bees for Development and the Tropical Agriculture Association. A number of international speakers presented details of projects in Cameroon, DR Congo, Kenya, the Middle East, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe. Clive de Bruyn who wrote about GM crops in B&D54 presented a paper on GM crops and their effect on pollination. Bees for Development’s involvement was sponsored by the DFID Cyfanfyd Development Awareness Programme.

New Zealand

Varroa confirmed

The Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry in Wellington confirmed the presence of the Varroa mite in South Auckland in April 2000. A standstill order extending 70 km from Auckland has been imposed while a search for infested colonies takes place. There are 100 hobby and commercial beekeepers in this area. The exportation of live bees from New Zealand has ceased until the extent of the disease is known. Jim Edwards, National Manager International Trade, New Zealand.

Editor’s note: {t has been confirmed also that the Varroa mite has been introduced to

Ireland, the western-most country in Europe.

Nigeria

Kano State Afforestation Project

During the processing and use of forest

products in Kano State, little attention is given to the abundant resources of nontimber forest products and the beneficial impact of apiculture on environmental conservation. Surveys of the area have shown good apicultural resources, with many honeybees attracted to the area because of the abundant forage and water resources available. Two areas, one of natural forest at Dansoshiy, and Yanbawa Shelter Belt (planted Eucalyptus) were proposed as sites for the apiculture programme and hives introduced. After four months the initial capital outlay had been recovered. Currently honey and beeswax are under-priced and their market potential is not fully realised. The bee farmers are forming an association to ensure fair a price for their products and a constant supply to meet the demand.

Kano State Afforestation Project