Honey Productivity and Marketing in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Beekeeping has been contributing to the household income, employment, poverty alleviation and national economy through export. Ethiopia is the leading honey and beeswax producer in Africa. Honey and beeswax products are part of the apiculture market, which encompasses a wide range of products, from primary commodities to highly processed, high value consumer goods. However, various researchers revealed that the productivity, quality and marketing of honey and beeswax should be improved. This review paper also tried to address productivity and marketing volume of honey; and constraints and opportunities of honey production and marketing in Ethiopia. Income from the sector is minimal, primarily due to low productivity and poor quality, but also because of limited market access, which forces producers to sell locally at low prices. Honey production is frequently promoted as a pro-poor income generation activity as it is accessible to many members of a rural community, has low start-up costs and requires little land or labor. Factors have kept Ethiopian honey production from reaching its full market potential are backward technology for honey production; which includes traditional beehives and results in low quantity and poor quality of honey produced, lack of financial resources (such as access to loans) for beekeepers to obtain modern beehives. Therefore, the government policy dimension on commercialization of agriculture and major emphasis on beekeeping subsector stimulates the intensive involvement of small scale farmers as well as traders in honey production, productivity, processing and marketing. Keywords: Honey, Productivity, pro-poor, Nutritional value DOI : 10.7176/DCS/9-5-04 Publication date :May 31 st 2019