Ethiopia is working to enhance the apiculture sector according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The ministry has put in place the regulatory framework to support the sector including the Bee Resource Development Protection Law, the Beekeeping Extension Package and Strategy, and the Honey and Wax Quality Control Regulations.
The MoA is also providing training programs to farmers while the Holeta Bee Research Center is conducting a range of research to address challenges in the sector said Tarekegn Tsige Head of Public Relations with the ministry.
The equipment required to launch bee keeping efforts is also being produced domestically he added.
Ethiopia is ideally suited for apiculture because of its ecology with an estimated 10 million bees in the country and a long history of traditional honey and wax production.The nation, on average produces more than 50 thousand tons of honey and 3,500 tons of annually and the national production for the current fiscal year is at the national average.
The 1.8 million farmers engaged in the sector collect as much as 50 kilograms of honey from a modern beehive in a single harvest and sell the honey for up to 100 birr a kilo noted Tarekegn.
The sector earned 2 million US dollars in honey exports in the previous fiscal year.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
