Prospects of beekeeping in the Northern Ethiopian highlands

Abstract

Ethiopia is one of the principal honey and beeswax producers in the world. An assessment was conducted to investigate the scope of beekeeping in Endrta district Northern Ethiopia in 2010. Ninety two beekeepers were randomly selected for semi structured interviews. Data on annual income, number and type of beehive owned, honey yield/hive, year of adoption of modern beehives and beekeeping experience were collected. On average 33 and 16 kg of honey per hive was harvested from modern and traditional hives, representing a potential annual income of $USD 33,444 and 7,939, respectively. Majority (54, 58.7%) of the respondents had modern beehive to enhance honey production and increase their income. Fifty four beekeepers were applying the new technology to enhance honey production and increase their income, of which only 20 have been using the technology for more than 5 years. During the study period the district had a total of 991 modern and 2,603 traditional beehives, worth a maximum of about $USD 454,128. The findings indicated that beekeeping could be a great source of employment creation for the rural people to reduce poverty. Beekeeping plays an important role in income generation for beekeepers of the district. The regional government should organize landless youth in the district and should provide initial capital to run beekeeping activities. Key words: Beekeeping, traditional beehives, modern beehives, Endrta.