$178m for Umguza bee-keeping project

GOVERNMENT has set aside about $178 million to kick-start the establishment of a commercial bee-keeping project in Umguza District, which will benefit more than 500 people.

The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has initiated the project as a launchpad for modelling grass root employment, thereby buttressing the rural industrialisation thrust, which promotes inclusive participation of all people in the mainstream economy.

Known as the Umguza Apiculture Employment Promotion Programme (UAEPP), the ministry is spearheading the project implementation, working closely with key partners.

These include intergovernmental organisations, bee-keeping companies, small to medium enterprises, education sector representatives, environment agencies, and law enforcement agents.

A training programme targeting about 250 people has already been conducted and covers villages such as Nganda, Mvana, Fountain, Majindana, Mindora, Igusi, and Bhudha.

Villagers attend the training session

Last Thursday, a team of senior ministry officials visited Umguza District and engaged key stakeholders at Igusi area on how best the project could be successfully implemented.

Project coordinator, Mr Proud Tshuma, said the project was initiated to empower locals and create more employment in rural areas. He said bee-keeping was a viable and environmentally sustainable project with lucrative profits.

Mr Tshuma said they will be establishing a “queen bee breeding facility”, which will help improve the beehive occupation rate from 60 to 100 percent.

“Bee-keeping is a viable project and currently we are training 500 bee-keepers in Umguza. The Government is going to fund the whole project and supply all the necessary equipment, which includes bee hives, clothing, and catch boxes to make sure that production goes on,” he said.

“The Government is injecting an amount of $178 million towards the project and this is our pioneer project and we are wishing for the best.”

Mr Tshuma said out of the number of people being trained, 55 percent are women as most females have shown a lot of interest.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Tendayi Garabwe, said the project will provide sustainable employment for rural communities.

“The intention of this bee-keeping project is to train more than 500 families to achieve sustainable livelihood in line with vision 2030 as we move with the President’s mantra that we are ‘living no one or no place behind’,” he said.

“The project is a success and we are moving from a system where we were donating food to the people but we are now giving them the means to produce food on their own.

“We believe this will go a long way in creating employment for the people of Zimbabwe to achieve an upper middle-income economy by 2030.”

Mr Garabwe said employment creation was a top Government priority hence the ministry has been mandated to coordinate all employment creation activities.

He said projects like the one in Umguza will contribute to creating an estimated 760 000 jobs in line with expectations under the National Development Strategy 1.

“There will be value addition of honey and people will get employment through this and if it’s in full throttle, more than 20 000 people will benefit through this project,” said Mr Garabwe.

Umguza Ward 12 councillor, Mr Johannes Sibanda, said they appreciate the project as it is going to assist people to be economically empowered and paid tribute to the Government for the support.

“This is going to assist us to improve the livelihoods of the rural people, it is also going to assist in environmental conservation as people are also trained to take care of the environment,” he said.

Trainees also applauded the Government initiative saying the project capacitates them to provide for their family needs, including school fees and food.

“After we are done with the training, we will be starting our projects hoping that it will help us to take care of our families. We won’t be waiting for the Government to give us handouts as we will be able to produce for ourselves,” said Mr Honest Ncube, one of the trainees.

A consultant for the project and Bulawayo businessman, Mr Welcome Bhila of Bees Honey Company, said trainees have shown great interest in the project.

Mr Welcome Bhila trains villagers on bee-keeping— (Pictures by Panashe Zingoni)

“The Government’s approach to this project is going to assist because bee-keeping doesn’t need any educational qualifications but basic knowledge, which is being shared through these pieces of training is enough to make the projects a success,” he said.

“People are moving from using artificial sweeteners and we are hoping this project will assist to improve the supply of honey as we are currently in short supply and we are also hoping to enter the export market.”

According to ZimTrade, health-conscious consumers now opt for natural sugars such as honey in place of artificial sweeteners.

This has seen a surge in demand for honey whose uses extend beyond the kitchen table, making it a very important source of income for many economies.

Despite the potential, Zimbabwe lags behind in terms of honey exports and apiculture compared to regional peers. — ebusinessweekly