Socio technical characteristics of beekeeping and honey production in Cameroon

Abstract

From January to December 2022, a study was carried out in Cameroon to have a global overview of apiculture in the aspect of production, technics and finances. In order to achieve these objectives, a sample of 113 beekeepers was surveyed within the country and databases of the livestock, Agriculture Ministries and National Statistics Institute were consulted. The results showed that beekeeping in Cameroon is mainly done by men (76%), and that beekeepers' ages range from 15 to over 60 years old and are either pure beekeepers, practising beekeeping as the only activity or partial beekeepers whose activity is secondary to another. Three types of hives are used by beekeepers with a significant difference between the areas (p<0.0001) namely conical made of straw in the Sudano-Guinean area, trapezoidal made of wood for the Kenyan Top Bar Hive (KTBH) and parallelepipedal for the Langstroth hives and its variants in the bimodal forest and western highlands areas. An average number of 36.18±20.23 hives per beekeeper was obtained, with an annual average production of 14.56±11.68 litres per hive. Sales revenue per beekeeper obtained was 583,015.27 ± 72,369.52 FCFA (1,166.03 ±144.74 USD) with a significant difference (p<0.001) between the areas. This study has given an insight into Cameroonian apiculture and the overall results suggest that the country has one of the greatest potential in the continent with an increase in production over the last five years.