Singida youth group plans to invest Sh300m in beekeeping

Lake Zone beekeeping officer Samuel Magire (left) briefs then-Natural Resources and Tourism deputy minister Ramo Makani (right) on how modern beehives have increased honey production during the World Honey Bee Day in Itilima District, Simiyu Region early this month. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN CORRESPONDENT

What you need to know:

Currently, the group produces 25 tonnes per year but with the investment, they envisage to raise it by over 100 per cent.

Dar es Salaam. Singida youth beekeepers are planning invest Sh300 million to beehives and trading in honey as they seek raise their annual production by over 100 per cent by January next year.

Currently, the group produces 25 tonnes per year but with the investment, they envisage to raise it by over 100 per cent.

Part of the money will also be spent on buying of the products from small-scale producers so they can satisfy demand from local and foreign markets.

“Currently, we get several orders for honey from foreign companies but the we face a challenge of limited production and that is why we have decided to invest so we can increase the number of beehives,” the President for Singida Youth Entrepreneurs and Consultants Cooperative Society (SYECCOS) Philemon Kiemi told The Citizen.

Currently, the group owns a total of 6000 beehives with capacity of producing 25 tons per year.

The group took part in the Apimondia International Apicultural Congress between September 29th and October 4th 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The meeting attracted thousands of beekeeping stakeholders across the World and according to Mr Kiemi, the group managed to strike a number of deals at the event, necessitating it to increase production.

“We met companies from Nigeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Israel and Slovakia who have shown interest in our products….To meet their demand, we have initiated discussions with other producers in Singida so we can buy from them as well,” he said.

Statistic from the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism show that Tanzania is Africa’s second largest honey producer after Ethiopia.

Currently, the country produces 38,000 tonnes per year.

There are about 1,000 beekeepers in Singida and about 90 per cent of the hives are traditional ones while approximately 10 per cent are improved ones.

Singida region produces about 21 per cent of Tanzania’s honey annually.