Offinso North District Assembly in the Ashanti Region has organised a three-day beekeeping training workshop for over 40 persons selected from various communities in the district.
The training, which was held at Akomadan, the district capital was aimed at introducing the participants to alternative sources of income generation to complement their current employments.
The participants who are mostly farmers received education on the technical skills of beekeeping and coaching platform, protecting the bee hives and marketing. The training was funded by the District Assembly.
The District Chief Executive, Hon Samuel Kojo Appiah-Kubi, advised the participants to put to good use the knowledge they have gained on beekeeping when they return to their communities.
He said beekeeping is less-time consuming and can be done alongside any other venture and the financial benefits are very encouraging.
He said the only means of measuring the success of the training is when the participants are able to produce honey when they return to their communities after the training. Hon Appiah-Kubi revealed that plans are underway to also train women in soap and pomade making to serve as source of employment for the women folks in the District.
The executive director of the Center for Diabetics and Infant Mortality Prevention (CDIMP), Mrs Dora Asamoah, said the aim of the training program is to eradicate extreme poverty in the area.
She informed the participants that the District Assembly would provide funding for the purchase of beehives and other accoutrements for beekeeping to be given to them free of charge to begin their beekeeping activities in their various communities.
She also advised them to consider this as an opportunity to make extra income to take care of their families and also live better lives.
An expert on beekeeping who led the training, Mr. JusticeDonguTakora, told the participants that the gap between the rich and the poor can be closed when real attention is given to beekeeping or apiculture.
He mentioned some of the economic gains of beekeeping, which include; income generation from the sale of honey and other by-products, pollen and propolis, and employment and job creation.
“Bees action for survival ends up in effective crop pollination, leading to maximum crop yields with greater and higher quality of seed formation on crop farms” he added.
According to him investment in beekeeping is very low as comparedto crop cultivation and animal husbandry in Ghana. “Running cost and maintenance are often lower, storage structures are often simple with less financing, demand and pressure, activity calendar is often so friendly, and weather threats are less” he said.
No chemicals are needed in beekeeping unlike crop cultivation and animal rearing that require the use of insecticides and weedicidesor visitations by veterinary officers.
Honey the most popular produce from beekeeping has a long life span unlike cereals such as legumes and grains. One is therefore not worried about glut or lack of available market since the product can be stored to be sold at any time.
MrTakora, who is also a member of Partners for Participatory Development (PAPADEV), an NGO working in the Northern Region, educated the participants on how to prepare the locations for the mounting of beehive to catch the bees.
The executive director of the Network for Health and Relief Foundation, Mr. Samuel Oracca-Tetteh, who spoke on the necessity for beekeeping, said arable lands are now getting weaker as a result of pressure and crop yields are no longer sufficient due to poor pollination.
Beekeeping is therefore a viable alternative to the problems presented by the difficulty in tilting the land and rearing animals. He mentioned that several locations such as; rocky or stoned areas, forest reserves, shrines, non-arable lands, orchards, nurseries and plantations can be used for beekeeping.
He further educated the participants on the appropriate time for the installation of beehives, criteria for the selection of sites for bee hives, the management of colonies for economic gains and the proper attire for beekeepers.
Source: By: Bruce Misbahu Bulmuo
