News

CAMEROON

Bonakanda-Bova Bee Farmers Group (BOBEEFAG) organised a two-day Workshop attracting 33 participants. We found the charts supplied for use at the Workshop by Bees for Development particularly useful. BOBEEFAG is striving to produce good returns of high quality honey, beeswax and propolis for the ever increasing market for these products and at the same time conserving our biodiversity and environment.

We are welcoming new members to the Group on a regular basis. BOBEEFAG provides basic materials for the construction of top-bar hives. Our Group's bees contribute significantly to the pollination of cultivated crops throughout the local community.

NIGERIA

In April I addressed the 1300 participants of the 28th Annual National Ijtema Convention on the subject of beekeeping.

After my speech many interested listeners asked me how they could become beekeepers.

An arrangement was made that each State will compile a list of interested members that is then sent to me. A comprehensive training programme will be arranged.

A G B Babalola

TANZANIA

I have just finished facilitating a ten-day Beekeeping Workshop at Madale Youth Settlement, 30 km north of Dar es Salaam. The Settlement is home to 100 young men and women who are involved in agricultural production, mainly growing passion fruits. Other activities include brick and tile making. Their Beekeeping Project is a new activity and has been received with enthusiasm. Bees can be found everywhere at the camp: occupying offices, houses, and workshops. Before the training sessions bees were considered a menace but now they are thought of as a blessing, because the benefits they bring are understood. The most important benefit the bees bring to the Settlement is pollination of the passion fruit. A wide variety of hives will be used depending on the materials available for their construction.

The Workshop was co-financed by the participants and the German Development Service. Bees for Development supplied Workshop materials.

Thomas Chale

UGANDA ROUND-UP

Penywii Youth and Women’s Development Association have established beekeeping as a useful activity to include in their work. The work of the Association includes:

- Educating beekeepers on how to increase yields of high quality honey; previously beekeepers were boiling their honey and adding water prior to selling;

- Demonstrating new beekeeping techniques, for example using a brick hive inside the house, instead of a log hive;

- Encouraging local communities to take up beekeeping. The Association is responsible for seven projects which include a total of 350 traditional hives and 50 top-bar hives;

- Buying honey - providing it is good quality - to motivate the beekeepers.

Ariko T Stephen, Chairman, Penywii Youth and Women’s Development Association

Ochoun Uthuma Emirious from Apis Family Ltd, in Nebbi sent us the photograph above of participants at the “Apiary Management and Honey Harvesting” Beekeeping Workshop held in June 1999

Bees can be kept by people of all ages. Bees do not need daily care and beekeeping can be done when be other work allows.

Muhereza Chris Tibemanya and, family (left) prepare to set up a hive. Muhereza has kept bees for 21 years in Bushenyi District using both traditional and top-bar hives.

TOBAGO - bad news for the bees

In August beekeeper (Francis Forbes) came to my office stating that he had lost quite a lot of bees. He appeared quite serious so i called Wellette Tobby, the Apiaries Officer and we went immediately to investigate.

There were lots of signs of swarming, chilled brood (we thought) and robbing. I could not figure out the crawling bees on the ground so we took some sealed brood and crawling bee samples, and sent them next day for analysis to the UK's Central Science Laboratory.

Our worst fears were realised when we received a letter by return confirming Varroa had been identified in the samples, but there was no evidence of disease.

We have now found Varroa in other apiaries on Tobago including my own. The latter discover was made in the company of participants of the Bees for Development Beekeepers' Safari to Tobago. They gave us the benefit of their knowledge in dealing with Varroa for several years. We plan to use Apistan strips and will 'blitz' the island!

Gladstone Solomon, B&D's Correspondent in Tobago