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Tedious Manyepo : Business Reporter

Local beekeepers are targeting to produce over 400 000 litres of honey by year-end up from about 220 000 reached in the previous year to meet increased demand created by the recent Government control on honey imports. Honey production has been subdued over the past few years due to low hive occupancy as well as the prevalence of pests and diseases.But following the recent restrictions on honey imports, local bee farmers are ramping up production to satisfy the demand.

In that regard the National Apiculture Association of Zimbabwe is putting together strategies to capacitate farmers to increase production.

Other stakeholders are chipping in with training of local bee farmers to produce on a commercial scale.

Chief small livestock specialist in the Veterinary Services Department, Admire Mbundura said more people need to be trained in beekeeping if the country is to meet its honey demand.

“We need to train about 50 000 people across the country in beekeeping. We have so much potential in this field but what has been lacking are the requisite skills to produce quality honey in large quantities.

“Beekeeping can be a strenuous job especially if the honey farmer is not trained in the field. There are a lot of challenges associated with honey farming. The problems range from hive construction to pests and disease control,” said Mr Mbundura.

Honey producers in the country have since appealed to banks to enable them to access lines of credit to grow their projects.