News from Njiro

Between 1993 and 1997 Bees for Development worked with Njiro Wildlife Research Centre in Arusha, Tanzania on the DFID-funded research project 'Sustainable beekeeping for Africa'. Angela Mwakatobe and Charles Mlingwa sent the following update about the Centre's recent activities.

Njiro Wildlife Research Centre conducted research on how beekeeping could contribute to the national economy and now we are proposing ways to improve the industry. Tanzania is endowed with natural resources suitable for the nourishment of the beekeeping industry, particularly the presence of miombo woodlands, with tree species Brachystegia, Combretum, Isoberlina, Julbernadia and Terminalia. The industry in Tanzania has the capacity to produce about 138,000 tonnes of honey worth TZS138 billion per year. An estimated annual production potential for beeswax of 9,200 tonnes is valued at TZS23 billion per year. Although Tanzania is well known for honey, beeswax is also important: the current annual production of 324 tonnes may represent only 3.5% of the potential.

As a starting point towards the expansion of the bee products industry, we carried out a survey to assess the market situation of honey in Arusha and Moshi towns. Our research considered public awareness, availability of honey, extent of use and sources of honey. Of 173 people interviewed in Arusha, 166 (96%) had knowledge of honey. In Moshi 200 people were interviewed and 160 (80%) had knowledge of honey.

The availability of honey in shops, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, general markets and pharmacies in Arusha town was only 44%, while the availability in Moshi town was even lower at 14%. Usage is still low: out of 166 respondents who had knowledge of honey, 54% used honey in one way or another in Arusha. Honey is used mainly as food (35%), medicine (14%) and others (5%), which includes rituals, brewing and cosmetics. In Moshi, out of those 160 who had knowledge of honey, only 30% used honey in one way or another, mostly as a medicine (14%) or food (11%).

There is a great need to double honey and beeswax production. Increased honey production should be coupled with deliberate measures to increase the local demand for honey. For example, if the annual per capita consumption of honey was just 150g, 5,000 tonnes would be needed.

€1 = TZS1,420

UK£1 = TZS2,064

US$1 = TZS1,104