Beekeeping Workshop in Malawi

12-30 October 1985

by Khaliso M. Phokedi, Beekeeping Technical Officer, Government of Botswana

The US Peace Corps in Malawi, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources, recently organised the first Beekeeping Workshop in Malawi. The 55 participants included extension staff from Ministries of Wildlife, National Parks and Agriculture, farmers from all regions of Malawi and Peace Corps Volunteers. The Workshop was initiated by Ms Rusty Klinger, a Peace Corps Volunteer, after discussion with other beekeeping development workers at the 3rd International Conference on Apiculture in Tropical Climates held in Nairobi in 1984. The approach to beekeeping used in Botswana (described in the Beekeeping Handbook by Bernhard Clauss) also seems appropriate for rural people in Malawi and therefore I was invited to be a lecturer at the Workshop, along with Mr M. N. Kawa from the Apiculture Programme in Mozambique and Mr J. B. Mweso, the only commercial beekeeper in Malawi.

The Workshop was held in Chilinda on the Nyika Plateau. The area is covered with plantations of introduced Pinus spp. and Eucalyptus spp. and also has indigenous miombo woodlands.

Historical Background of Beekeeping in Malawi

Beekeeping was first recorded in Malawi in the 1930’s when it was undertaken by colonialists and Malawians who were living in the then Nyika National Park. During that time Malawi was exporting tons of beeswax to Europe. After Independence the country’s beekeeping declined and the situation worsened when the Government wanted to expand the National Park forcing the people living in the area to move out. Farmers who had been moved settled outside the park, where they are now doing traditional beekeeping using log hives. Beekeeping has been neglected since Independence and nobody has received any training.

Beekeeping in Malawi at present

Mr Mweso, a retired Government Officer, has 450 hives sited in the miombo woodlands and in the acacia stands in the south of the country. Through negotiations he has been allowed to let his bees forage in the Nyika National Park to utilise the indigenous trees and shrubs. Mr Mweso is the only Malawian beekeeper to have had honey accepted by the international market. His products are graded at the Bureau for Food Standards in Blantyre, and he can then sell his honey on the international market if they are satisfied of the quality. His honey is also sold on the local market and is much cheaper than that imported from South Africa. At one time he exported beeswax to Zambia as the local prices were not satisfying. He uses all types of hives except the traditional hives and now uses Kenya top-bar hives and Mozambican transition hives made during our stay there. He is also ready to manufacture all bee equipment and sell to farmers who are interested to start a project. It should be noted that Mr Mweso did not go to a beekeeping Institute to train in beekeeping, but learned his craft through manuals, communication with IBRA etc.

Beekeeping Workshop

The Course programme included the following:

(a) Apiary work: opening hives, colony inspection, identifying the different types of bees in the colony, use of record sheets, bee space etc.

(b) Bee biology: members of the colony and their duties.

(c) Honey and beeswax: harvesting, processing, packaging, grading, uses.

(d) Bee management: construction of the Noah’s hive, Kenya top-bar hive, Tanzania top-bar hive, apiary selection, baiting and siting of a trap hive, making wax strips on top-bars, identification of important bee plants, pests and diseases.

Recommendations: After the three week Workshop the following recommendations were made regarding the future of beekeeping in Malawi and also the whole of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) Countries.

1. This seminar was the first of its nature ever held in Malawi, so the Government must support the project to get it off the ground. In order to ensure that people work hard such workshops should be held annually. The same applies to other SADCC countries who would like to promote the project and need assistance from Malawi, they are welcomed to host such conferences where ideas can be shared in order to meet our goal of self-sufficiency in food production. We should join hands and assist each other in the promotion of the project.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture should play a role in promoting the project in the country. Through the assistance of the Beekeeping Officer who is under the Ministry of National Parks and Wildlife, farmers should be encouraged to do beekeeping in order to improve their living standards in the rural areas. The farmers who have been practising traditional beekeeping should be encouraged to start more modern beekeeping. This can be done giving some equipment at a subsidised price, encouragement to form groups so that they can be given funds for the purchase of equipment and other needs. This will help the farmers to be profitable by producing honey and wax of good quality.

3. Mr Mweso, the commercial beekeeper, should act as an interim between the traditional beekeepers and the international market until such time as a co-operative can be formed for the collection of the products and their disposal to the outside market.

4. Malawi is densely covered with miombo woodland, especially in the north, which if utilised could make her one of the biggest exporters of bee products in the tropics.

5. The Government should take the responsibility of training beekeeping officers so that the project has trained personnel who will help with extension in the field. This is very important as lack of skilled personnel always delays the progress of any project. There were plans for building a beekeeping Institute; we (trainers) suggested that it should be built either inside the Nyika National Park or near where the miombo could be utilised in carrying out research and school practicals.