Towards a beekeeping policy for Zambia
The Forestry Department together with the beekeeping fraternity in Zambia met in Ndola on the 20th of December 2006 to discuss the beekeeping industry in Zambia and the development of a policy for the industry. The meeting was held under the aegis of a project called “Achieving Millennium Goals – from local action to national policy reform” being implemented by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in partnership with the Forestry Department. CIFOR is an international organization involved in forestry research activities that support livelihoods dependent on forests and promote conservation of forests and other natural resources.
The Workshop drew participants from a wide range of stakeholders from the beekeepers to the marketers of the honey, and the environmentalists, academics, local NGOs, private sector, Forestry Department, COMESA, and the Export Board of Zambia. The objective was to get the stakeholders to meet, discuss constraints in the beekeeping industry and also to come up with possible solutions to make honey, beeswax and other products profitable for all stakeholders. In her opening remarks, the Director of Forestry, Mrs Chileshe-Masinja highlighted the need for openness and honest discussion at the workshop, and the importance of having a sound beekeeping policy. She highlighted that the workshop provided a stepping stone towards the development of a policy that will enhance the industry in terms of profitability and sustainable forest management.
Participants noted that there have been several attempts to have a unifying institution that considered the needs of the honey producers, retailers and consumers and forest management. However this did not materialize due to a lack of enabling policy environment and lack of sufficient data in terms of number of people involved in the industry and production figures. Apart from the absence of policy and legislation, the issue of the marketing and distribution of products remains the pivotal deciding factor in the industry. A number producers expressed their concern of being ripped off by middlemen who have access to the lucrative export market.
Women play an important role in poverty alleviation and their involvement in the industry is crucial. The workshop participants noted and recommended that if honey production is to effectively improve people’s welfare at household level, womenfolk are expected to actively participate in these projects, not only in production but marketing of products. The producers expressed the desire for the industry to be gender sensitive. Mr Palata, a producer based in Kabompo, reported that there are ongoing trials in making bee hives that are manageable by women, such as the Kenya Top Bar Hive model.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Crispen Marunda, the Regional Coordinator for CIFOR’s Eastern and Southern Africa acknowledged the need for continued dialogue and unity of purpose in the honey production sector to enhance productivity, equitable benefit sharing amongst the stakeholders, and the sustainable management of the forests from which the industry is dependent. The Forestry Department will take the lead in developing the beekeeping policy with CIFOR providing support for analyses of practices on the ground and experiences from other countries. The workshop called for the need for stakeholders to work together in putting together a plan of action that embraces interests of all stakeholders and institutions in Zambia. The workshop ended with the planting of trees on the hotel grounds, in support of the National Tree planting exercise.
