Drivers of honey production and its effects on rural livelihoods in Odravu Sub-country, Yumbe district, Northern Uganda
Abstract
The study identified the key drivers of honey production and its effects on rural livelihoods in Odravu sub-country, Yumbe district, Northern Uganda. The specific objectives were to establish the economic benefits accruing from honey production; to determine the factors that influence the honey produced and establish the socio-economic effects of honey production on the rural livelihoods. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design with the questionnaire as the primary data collection tool administered to 80 honey-producing farmers from Odranga, Lukenene, Kobo, Ayuri and Pamua villages. The data was analyzed using SPSS v23. The findings revealed that income, medicine, employment, food, pollination, and medicine were the most economic benefits accruing from honey production. The results also indicated that most farmers in the age brackets of 36-45 (36%) were more involved in honey production. most male (75%) were involved in honey production, most honey producers were married (86%) and had 4-7 (69%) members in a household and most honey farmers (53%) had attained the secondary level of education. The factors that influence honey production included the level of education, experience, types of hives kept per farmer, the total number of hives kept per farmer and number of hives colonized. Honey production was highest among farmers with honey production ranking as the first position among the beekeeper'sincome-generating activities. Honey production was high among farmers keeping only traditional hives and those who kept more than one hive type as compared to modern beehives. The household honey production level increased with the number of hives kept. The enterprise resulted into increased people'sincomes, access to domestic lighting systems, and better pollination of plants, employment and improved diet of the local people. It is recommended that the government should establish honey and beeswax collection centres and cooperatives and equipping them with the necessary facilities to help in marketing and improve honey production. It is also important to document the available indigenous knowledge and practices of beekeeping for its further improvement and development of the beekeeping sector.
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Introduction
1.1 Background Beekeeping has been promoted worldwide as a major rural development engine with the bee products; honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen bee venom, and royal jelly being of high socioeconomic value (Berem, 2015). Uganda has 80% of its population residing in rural areas and engaged in agriculture as a major economic activity. Their incomes depend greatly on agricultural activities, either from work on their own farms, or in agricultural wage employment. This reliance on agriculture makes the rural extreme poor highly vulnerable to climatic shocks and weather events. While agriculture plays a big role in their income and food security, the rural extreme poor also diversify their sources of income in other non-agricultural activities, (UBOS, 2018).About 24% of these live below the national poverty line (IFAD, 2013). Northern Uganda hosts the highest number of rural poor households due to the 20-year civil strife. Many of these rural poor suffer from income poverty, lack of education, health, poor housing, unemployment, limited empowerment and personal insecurity (Alkire & Foster, 2011). Because of the above poverty constraints, these communities are constantly reorganizing their livelihoods based on available natural resources to alleviate poverty. Beekeeping has been considered as one of the livelihood diversification alternatives by farmers and development actors in Uganda (Mujuni, Natukunda, & Kugonza, 2012).
In Uganda, Beekeeping is considered a vital component of poverty eradication in rural areas (UBOS, Uganda National Household Survey, 2017). This is because Beekeeping requires low start-up costs, low labour requirements, less land, user-friendly technology and dependency on traditional knowledge and skills (Ogaba, 2012; Gupta, Reybroeck, Van Veen & Gupta, 2014). Additionally, it provides complementary services to other on-farm enterprises like crop pollination. Beekeeping is also an efficacious tool in rural development as bees are omnipresent and the required equipment and tools namely: hives, smokers, and protective clothing are locally made. Due to all these factors plus its contribution to livelihood outcomes especially the guaranteed year-round financial protection, beekeeping is considered an important component farming that improves the livelihood of the rural farmers, (Sacco, Jones & Sacco, 2014).
Beekeeping substantiates household income from hive product sales, provides food and raw materials for industries (Manyi-Loh, Clarke, & Ndip, 2011). In Uganda, Beekeeping has been reported to have a high impact among small income earners such as women, orphans and other vulnerable groups, (UBOS, Uganda National Household Survey, 2017). Chaplin-Kramer, et al., (2014) found that bees are responsible for one-third of food crops produced for human consumption. Honeybee pollination improves the quality, quantity and market value of food crops (Klatt, et al., 2014). Thus, honeybees are central in ensuring food security in Uganda.
In Uganda, Beekeeping has received much attention in the scope of sustainable development since it requires low levels of input (land, labour and capital), honey is a high-value export product, it promotes pollination and it creates employment opportunities, making it an extremely valuable livelihood strategy (MAAIF/UBOS, 2010). However, only 2.7% of the total households in Uganda have been reported to own beehives, with an estimated annual production of 2,600 tones (MAAIF/UBOS, 2010). The Northern subregion has the highest production while the Central sub-region has the least production (MAAIF/UBOS, 2010). The colonization of hives is highest in Eastern (72.1%) and lowest in Karamoja Subregion (60%), (MAAIF/UBOS, 2010).
Beekeeping has been reported to contribute more to household income in yumbe District in Northern Uganda compared to other livestock species (Mujuni et al., 2012). The NorthWest agro-ecological zone of Uganda, also known as the West Nile region, produces up to 3 quarters of honey in Uganda. However, beekeeping in this region is still based on traditional technologies and practices and characterized by alarmingly low colonization and high absconding rates (UBOS, 2014). Therefore, the study seeks to identify the key drivers of honey production and its effects on rural livelihoods in Odravu sub country, Yumbe district.
Despite the large economic potential for honey production, many beekeepers in Uganda fail to produce and market enough honey to make a living from it. Beekeeping contributes more to household income in Yumbe District in west Nile region compared to many other livestock species (Mujuni et al., 2012). However, the key drivers of honey production and its effects on rural livelihoods especially in west Nile remain fragmentary and need to be understood. The goal of this study is therefore to determine the key drivers of honey production and its effects on rural livelihoods in Uganda with a specific focus on Odravu sub country, Yumbe district.
The main objective of the study is to identify the key drivers of honey production and its effects on rural livelihoods in Odravu sub country, Yumbe district. The specific objectives were to establish the economic benefits accruing from honey production in Yumbe district; to determine factors that influence the honey produced; and to determine the socio-economic effects of honey production on the rural livelihoods in Odravu sub-county, Yumbe district, Northern Uganda.
Conclusion
4.1 To establish the economic benefits accruing from honey production in Yumbe district The study noted that; income, medicine, employment, food, pollination, and medicine were the most economic benefits accruing from honey production in Yumbe district. The results indicated that most farmers in the age brackets of 36-45 (36%) were more involved in honey production. most male (75%) were involved in honey production, most honey producers were married (86%) and had 4-7 (68.7%) members in a household and most honey farmers (52.5%) had attained the secondary level of education. 4.2 To determine factors that influence the honey produced in Odravu sub-county, Yumbe district The Factors that influence honey production in Odravu sub-county, Yumbe district were, the level of education, experience, types of hives kept per farmer, the total number of hives kept per farmer and number of hives colonized. Honey production was highest among farmers with honey production ranking as the first position among the beekeeper'sincome-generating activities. It'simportant to note that honey production was high among farmers keeping only traditional hives and those who kept more than one hive type as compared to modern beehives. The production of honey increased with an increasing number of hives kept and colonized per farmer up to 80 beehives above which the production decreased. 4.3 To determine the socio-economic effects of honey production on the rural livelihoods in Odravu sub-county, Yumbe district The effects of honey produced on the rural livelihoods in Odravu sub-county, Yumbe district were; helped to increase local people'sincomes, helped the locals have access to candles to light up their homes during night hours, help in the pollination of the local plants in the community, created employment for the local people and helped to improve the diet of the local people. 4.4 Recommendations Increasing the productivity, production, and quality of honey there should be a government effort to improve the management of the traditional hives and introducing improved beehives, increasing the productiveness of bee colonies by improving bee forage and providing feed and water and introducing bee plants is very important.
The government with the help of the local people should establish honey and beeswax collection centres and cooperatives and equipping them with the necessary facilities should be done, this will help in marketing and improve honey production. The local community and the government should promote beekeeping sub-sector strategy that would apply to different Production systems in the district to increase honey production.
Indigenous knowledge of farmers in beekeeping should be scientifically examined. It is necessary to document the available indigenous knowledge and practices of beekeeping for its further improvement and development of the beekeeping sector. A proverb was found famous in lugbara culture, as ‘killing one bee equals the sin of killing seven goats’. As they believed goat as a goddess in lugbara culture. Similarly, the importance of honey was reported as avery essential material in daily life.