News

ETHIOPIA

Participants from all over the country met when The Ethiopian Beekeepers’ Association held its Annual Conference in August 2000.

Researchers from Holetta Beekeeping Research Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture presented information on floral calendars, seasonal management of bee colonies in top-bar hives and frame hives, and the development of beekeeping in Ethiopia. the Conference very interesting and encouraging.

Abrham Tesfaye

GHANA

The Director of Friends of Bee Enterprise, Mr T A Quaye, sent in this picture taken during their one-week Seminar, showing participants busy at work in the apiary. The Seminar was sponsored by Tepa District Council to help local farmers who cultivate cocoa and maize learn how to augment their income through beekeeping.

SWITZERLAND

Mr Pittier-Raid sent this photograph of a colony of his bees living inside a transparent acrylic hive.

INDIA

The killing of the Indian honeybee Apis cerana by Thai sacbrood disease and the failure of the Indian scientific community to control it or to produce disease resistant varieties, resulted in the introduction of the European bee Apis mellifera into various parts of India. Several government and non-government agencies encouraged the action without realising the far-reaching consequences.

Eventually Apis mellifera may out-compete Apis cerana resulting in the disappearance of this indigenous bee. This conclusion can be reached from the experiences in Korea and Thailand, where the native species were marginalised after the introduction of Apis mellifera. The decline of Apis cerana harmfully affects the agricultural sector that is the backbone of the Indian economy because of Apis cerana’s vital role in the pollination of plants. As Apis mellifera adapts to the Indian climate there will be a fundamental change, and already changes have been observed in its behaviour. Apis mellifera’s non-aggressive character disappeared and it has become increasingly aggressive.

The worst and far reaching consequence of the introduction of Apis mellifera is the method adopted by the beekeepers to control the birds that feed on honeybees - indiscriminately shooting them down. This will destroy the fragile ecosystem.

V J Sebastian

Honeybee pollination of buckwheat

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is one of the important cereal crops belonging to the Family Polygonaceae and is indigenous to Asia. It is grown in many States of India, especially in drought areas. The crop is grown in Assam and iS gaining momentum in production. Grain from this crop is an important source of high quality protein and carbohydrates. It is mixed with wheat flour, and is also used for gluten-free diets. Flowers attract bees to their nectar and this enhances pollination. An attempt has been made to evaluate the effect of Apis cerana in the pollination, seed set and yield of buckwheat. In Russia buckwheat has long been considered as a major source of honey.

An experiment was conducted in India to investigate the effect of Apis cerana on seed set and yield of buckwheat. Buckwheat spikes per plant, seeds per spike, percentage of filled seed, and weight of grain were found to be higher in bee pollinated trials than in open and self-pollinated experiments. There was significant difference in yield in bee pollinated treatment over “open” and “without bees” pollination control treatments. The foraging activity of Apis cerana showed the maximum number of foragers recorded from 1500-1600 hours.

A Rahman & S Rahman

Source: indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2000

CAMEROON

Back at school

Bishop Rogan College apiary has 50 hives, 20 currently occupied by bees. Three staff members underwent training and are now working with FAAFNET (Forestry, Agriculture, Animal and Fishery Network) towards the goal of enough honey for 400 students as a substitute for white sugar in the refectory.

The students recently demonstrated beekeeping during a ceremony that took place on campus. Some of the 800 students at St Joseph's College recently decided to form a Beekeeping Club. FAAFNET is helping them to identify bee plants to grow around the campus and apiaries. Some students from rural areas who have experience of traditional beekeeping are aware already of how interesting and lucrative beekeeping is. They intend to introduce their parents to better management techniques to increase their family income and add to their own education funds. FAAFNET are helping further by passing on B&D to the College.

Lyonga William Mumbe

NIGERIA

National Youth Service Corps

We have the responsibility of mobilising Nigerians aged 20-30 years who are graduates of polytechnics and universities for a one-year compulsory National Service. “Community Development Service” is an important segment of National Service. We have a fresh initiative in Community Development Service called Integrated Rural Development that includes the promotion of beekeeping. We have also established a Beekeepers’ Association.

Tosin Quadri - Head of Community Development Service Department, Llorin

International Centre for Honeybee Resources Management and Research

This Centre is located in Ladkoke Akintola University of Technology, Obomoso, and is a project by the Beekeepers’ Association of Nigeria. The Centre focuses on training, research and development with the African honeybee Apis mellifera adansonii. Our objectives include education on the need for sustainability in beekeeping, and encouraging co-operative work among beekeepers and honey hunters.

Olasdejo Akanbi - Beekeepers’ Association of Nigeria

SUDAN and UGANDA

Yoana Baptist Agro-Enterprises Development Co-operation is working in southern Sudan and northern Uganda using beekeeping as a weapon against poverty. Communities can acquire self-sustainability. In northern Uganda 300,000 Sudanese refugees live in camps.

The reasons we are promoting beekeeping are:

The area has a good potential for honeyproduction;

- Acquiring beekeeping skills is not expensive - training costs are low and it takes only a short time;

- Beekeeping requires little land compared with other agro enterprises;

- Materials and tools are very cheap - a farmer can start with 10 hives at a cost of US$150;

- In Sudan and Uganda there is a lot of forest wood: if the local communities are provided with carpentry tools, materials and skills they can make their own hives from local materials.

We are working with two groups. The first group is in a refugee camp in northern Uganda where the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology is organising training for 57 participants (36 women and 21 men). The second group with 157 members is in Sudan. Membership is expected to increase as many more people realise the economic attraction of beekeeping.

We are planning to set up a carpentry workshop at a cost of US$15,000 to purchase tool boxes, generators, sewing machines and timber cutters, and to employ workshop personnel for six months. We aim to produce 10,000 hives every year and each person will get 10 hives. If this is achieved it means that in a year 1000 people will acquire self-sustainability through beekeeping.

Recently a potential buyer from the USA visited southern Sudan and Uganda and bought over 15 tonnes of honey from the local communities at a rate of US$1 per kilo. A market exists also in Kenya and Uganda for both honey and wax. With our proposals we hope to lead the market.

Thousands of ears in the world have heard about the war in Sudan but have not seen the suffering of the people. This is the time for you to realise that what you have heard is the real fact of the situation and this is the time for you to join us (Yoahoney) in alleviating their suffering.

Jackson Maku — Yaohoney, Kenya

If you would like to help Yachoney with their plans please contact them c/o Bees for Development