Beekeeping in the country is largely practiced within small scale rural settings, especially in the semi-arid areas, with 80 percent of the production coming from the traditional log hives.
Kenya, with the potential to produce more than 100,000 metric tons annually is currently utilizing only 20 percent of the potential, which has been attributed lack of access to information and markets.
A 10-member youth group from Kivaa, Masinga constituency in Machakos County is among the many youth groups that want to fill the gap by engaging in bee keeping as an income generating venture.
The Akamba Cultural youth group’s 10 members, who also form a larger Via-Mweki Community Based Organization (CBO), have been engaging in bee keeping as a possible strategy for not only making their livelihoods sustainable but also engaging the youth who, after finishing high school and colleges have not been able to secure jobs.
Speaking to KNA, a lead member of the group, Jairus Kioko, says that farming has not been attractive to the youth due to the labour intensity and for them, beekeeping is more appealing because they can do it and still engage in other activities.
He said before training, they were hesitant because they thought that bee keeping was labour intensive and time consuming, and requiring a lot of investment but they got some training that taught them they could easily maintain their hives for honey and comfortably do other jobs.
“Beekeeping for us has become like a hobby as it doesn’t take up a lot of time compared to other farming activities. We have organized ourselves and we just need to commit to a once a week visit to our hives. That is enough. We only get busier when it comes to harvesting the honey,” Kioko says.
Kioko acknowledged that when they started out, they did not have much knowledge but through the support of the Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) which took them through training and supported them with hives, they have been able to start producing more and even attracting other youths in the area to venture into the business.
“Bee farming has provided employment opportunities for many young people in my area. Many youths who were idle and hopeless and turning to drinking of illicit brews at the shopping centre have now embraced beekeeping as an economic activity,” he said.
Bee keeping, he noted is also one of the climate smart farming activities that Via Mweki CBO is rooting for, to boost farmers through pollination of plants, hence boosting production and therefore ensuring availability of food.
“Bees (Nzuki as kambas call them), provide essential ecosystem services and pollination, supports biodiversity, improves crop yields and communities are also able to help safeguard the environment,” he added
Kioko said on a good harvest which they normally do in the month of October they are able to get 15 kilogrammes of honey from one hive and since they have 20 of them, they are able to make good money.
“We sell the unprocessed honey for Sh 500 a kilogramme while the processed product goes for Sh 800 a kilogramme. With 20 of the hives and each being able to produce between 11 and 15 kilogrammes, we get good money that we share amongst ourselves and also save some for sustainability and expansion,” he explained.
Land, Kioko noted had been a problem but through the Via Mweki group, the youth who include young men and women have been practicing bee keeping at the Kivaa hills, where they also engage in planting trees.
ICE Director Martin Muriuki said that they have been supporting communities through training to conserve their forests and hills and also supporting them in undertaking community driven protection and rehabilitation of the sites they deem sacred.
“We have been working through the African Biodiversity Network (ABN) which is a network of organizations and individuals across Africa, to motivate communities to undertake conservation initiatives effortlessly amidst the myriads of challenges,” he explained.
For the young men of Kivaa-Akamba cultural youth group, the sky is the limit, as going forward, and with the knowledge and startup they have received, they want to not only increase the number of their groups but also increase the hives they are putting up, targeting to end up with a fully functional and registered honey company which not only supplies at local level but also exports the product.
Kioko says that the youth are the only ones who can come in, utilize and fill the gap that the country is experiencing on bee keeping.
According to a report by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), the country produces about 11,000 metric tonnes of honey and 1 to 3 tonnes of beeswax annually.
This, the report indicates, is only about 20 percent of Kenya’s potential and the low production is attributed to lack of appropriate technologies, poor beekeeping practices, and low uptake of available improved technologies.
This year, The World Bee Day, usually commemorated in May, recognized the youth saying they can play a pivotal role in addressing challenges bees and other pollinators are facing.
It ran under the theme ‘Bee engaged with Youth’, and highlighted the importance of investing in youth-led beekeeping initiatives through accelerating innovation, creativity, and technological advancement.
Bee Keeping or Apiculture is an important value chain in Kenya and earns farmers about Sh 4.5 billion per year. The Country produces about 14,000 metric tonnes of honey and about 140 tonnes of bees’ wax but has potential of 100,000 metric tonnes of honey and 1000 tons of beeswax.
By Wangari Ndirangu