Title : Unlocking the potential of honey production an untapped sector of beekeeping industry in South Sudan
Abstract:
Beekeeping has been promoted worldwide as a major rural development engine with the bee products; honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen bee venom, and royal jelly being of high socioeconomic value. South Sudan has a conducive environment for honey production owing to its vast forest reserves, swamps and savanna which provide a home for bees to thrive and make honey (Matata Safi, 2023). Areas suitable for honey production include the Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity states. But the traditional methods of beekeeping employed and massive displacement of communities due to insecurity has left the sector struggling. This research will investigate the potential of honey production an untapped sector of beekeeping industry in South Sudan. The study will explore 427 beekeepers mainly from western Equatoria, Lake and western Bahr el Ghazal states to determine the factors influence honey production and the potential to unlocking beekeeping industry in South Sudan. The study will also document socio-economic characteristics influencing beekeeping in South Sudan. The reliance on agriculture makes the rural extreme poor highly vulnerable to climatic shocks and weather events. While agriculture plays a big role in their income and food security, the rural extreme poor also have little in diversifying their sources of income in other non-agricultural activities. The study will adopt descriptive cross-sectional study design with questionnaires as a primary data collection tool that will be administered to 427 honey producers in Western Equatoria, Lake state and Western Bahr El Ghazal states. The data will be analyzed using STATA version 18.0 where the factors that influence honey production will be included, the level of education, experience, types of hives kept per farmer, the total number of hives kept per farmer and number of hives colonized. Highest number of honey production among farmers with honey production ranking in the beekeeper's income-generating activities. Honey production and the ease at which honey is produced among bees’ farmers for instance traditional hives and those who keep more than one hive type as compared to modern beehives. The household honey production level increased with the number of hives kept. The enterprise resulted into increased people's incomes, access to finance, and willingness to run beekeeping business and better pollination of plants, employment and improved diet of the local people. The recommendation will inform policy on food security, honey production value chain and marketing that unlock the potential of beekeeping industry in South Sudan.
