Beekeeping as a way to sweeten farmers pockets in Nyahururu

Members of the Losogwa village in Nyahururu are moving towards beekeeping for increased income. A visit by an agronomist encouraged the members of the area as he shared the benefits of beekeeping.

He said that to truly be sufficient and comfortable, farmers in Kenya should look into having more than one source of income. Furthermore, he shared that beekeeping is a simple and affordable endeavour for farmers to get involved in.

According to the agronomist honey has great demand within our country and being able to produce the product would yield great results for all involved. Beyond the profitable value of the honey from beekeeping, they are great pollinators and benefit the environment greatly. The agronomist shared that this fact meant that having a few hives on the farm serves as a benefit to the entire environment.

Ease of Beekeeping

Beekeeping maintenance is easy to maintain as all that is needed is a hive and water points around it for the dry seasons. A basic Langstroth hive costs about Sh4,000 and returns about 35kgs of honey per harvest.

In his conversation with the Losogwa village residents, he emphasized on how a small initial investment could open up a lot for them.

Mr Wachira from the area spoke about how he started beekeeping as a security effort against thieves on his farm. However, he developed his idea into selling honey and eventually added nine hives to meet his demand. He added that after all of his maintenance costs and expenses he is left with a handsome profit that has boosted the quality of his life.

His local customers use the product as a sweetener in food and as well as for traditional medicine.

However, Mr Wachira said that beyond producing honey, farmers should look into being able to harvest, process and package their products to make better margins.