BEEKEEPING A VERY LUCRATIVE BUSINESS

By NOEL IYOMBWA

BEEKEEPING is defined as the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives this is according to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.

 Honey bees in the genus Apis are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as Melipona stingless bees are also kept. Beekeepers keep bees to collect honey and other products of the hive: beeswax, propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly.

The other importance of beekeeping includes pollination of crops, raising queens, and production of package bees for sale. Bee hives are kept in an apiary or "bee yard".

The keeping of bees by humans, primarily for honey production, began around 10,000 years ago. A sample of5,500-year-old honey was unearthed from the grave of a noble woman during archaeological excavations in 2003 near the town of Borjomi, Georgia.

The largest beekeeping operations are agricultural businesses but many small beekeeping operations are run as a hobby. As beekeeping technology has advanced, beekeeping has become more accessible, and urban beekeeping was described as a growing trend as of 2016.

And a young Zambian Entrepreneur has turned his passion of keeping bees into a viable business. This is a youth entrepreneur, Obrain Siaziyu, based in Kabwe who decided to venture into beekeeping and extracting honey. 

Siaziyu disclosed to Agricoop News in an exclusive interview recently that he has always had the passion for beekeeping from childhood but realized later that this kind of activity can be turned into a good business venture.

He has been into beekeeping for the last five years adding that this has been one of his main sources of income.

Mr Siaziyu is not only a bee keeper but also a supplier of accessories that are used in the business beekeeping. He supplies bee hives or bee boxes including all the basic equipment's tools and materials needed for bee keeping. 

The other bee keeping accessories that he deals in include full work suits or protective gears to protect you during harvest, smokers, honey press machines, bee wax, swarm boxes. The swarm boxes are used by people who want to transfer the bees from one box to another including the division bee colony. 

Mr. Siaziyu has mastered the art of beekeeping and as a result of this he’s able to install bee hives and offer short trainings at a same time. 

He explained that bee keeping is a lucrative business but was quick to disclose that it has its own challenges that one engaged in this kind of business will encounter along the way.

"Some of the challenges in this business include bee colony decline, absconding and swarming while honey bee pests predators, lack of training and extension are some of the major challenges,” noted Mr. Siaziyu.

He disclosed that he has no partnership he is alone but that he has employed five people.

"I am still asking for help from the government through CDF so that I can employ more than 50 youths. I just hear about youth empowerment and I don't even know how it works. Beekeeping isa business that is able to give you more than 100 per cent profit and it is kind of farming that does not even need Inputs, “he said.

For more information on beekeeping business kindly get in touch with Mr. Siaziyu on 0973285634 or send a WhatsApp message on this same line.