Sweet venture: Bee keeping earns Nyeri farmers Sh3.1 million

It is sweet news for a group of beekeepers in Nyeri County who have earned Sh3.1 million from honey sales.

Under a programme to encourage farmers to take up bee keeping, 10 farmers groups each received 10 hives and apiary kits worth Sh1.8 million in the 2018/2019 financial year.

Nyeri Agricultural CEC James Wachihi announced that the 10 farmers groups recorded harvesting honey recording 5,200 litres earning Sh 3.1 million.

According to Wachihi, hive population stands at 9,600 after the county distributed 6,600 Kenya Top Bar Hive (KTBH) and 5,400 Loghives.

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The apiary kits which were distributed to the groups two years ago, include harvesters’ aprons, smokers and centrifuge pumps for extracting honey.

“For the farmers, the venture was set up to provide an alternative livelihood that doesn’t require much land and can run alongside other activities. Bees are also important, even for horticulture, as they enhance pollination,” Wachihi said.

The Smart Harvest & Technology spoke to leaders of the groups to share their experiences.

Ndegwa Waititu, chairperson of Kagumo Wendani Group in Othaya Constituency said this is sweet news to the members. 

“Most of us were small scale farmers and we came together through table banking activities. Bee keeping has boosted our sources of income,” he said.

The group set up an apiary on one of the members’ farms and planted flowers to encourage the bees to live within the hives.

“We had no experience in bee keeping and after a few training sessions from the county team, we set the ball rolling. Now we are harvesting quality honey and sweet returns,” he noted.

Open water containers dot the apiary where the bees fly freely and collect water before buzzing back into their hives.

“It is important to ensure the bees have access to water and the apiary is in a quiet secure place,” Waititu noted.

Best season

The group harvest honey three times a year usually during the dry and hot seasons, while the colder months it drops as the bees stay in their hives often consuming the honey they have produced.

“Bees can travel upto 1.2miles in search of nectar especially during the warm weather, after the rainy seasons. They do not venture out during the rainy seasons because most flowers are not in bloom,” he noted.

February, April and September are the peak honey harvesting season for the farmers who rake in up to 10 litres of honey per hive.

“So far we can harvest at least 100 litres of honey per season which is usually sold for an average of Sh800 per litre,” Waititu said.

The new business has allowed the group to diversify into other farming activities like goat keeping.

Another group that has also benefited from the beekeeping project is Ruruguti Ebenezer Group in Iria-ini ward.

Vice Chairlady Mary Wanjiku, said one of the most crucial lessons in bee keeping was to keep pests such as black ants and termites away from the hives.

She noted the group had also been harvesting honey since 2018 when they started their apiaries. They harvest more than 35 litres of honey per season.

“Normally we sell the honey at Sh1, 000 per kg to local residents but we are hoping to make enough money to start the packaging our honey,” she added.

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