PM challenges stakeholders of the beekeeping industry in the country

TANZANIA may be in a position to produce more honey if it maintains its rich natural vegetations best known for beekeeping activities resulting into honey production, the Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda has said. Giving the estimated statistics of the entire local production, the premier noted that, “Tanzania can produce 135,000 tones of honey per year and earns Sh. 1.8 trillions against the current production of 9,000 tones of honey per year which earns the country Sh. 27 billion, and produces 600 tones of beeswax that earns the nation Sh. 3 billion per year”. The Premier threw the challenge when addressing key stakeholders of beekeeping sector and business people engaged in selling honey related products who gathered recently in Dar es Salaam to showcase their products during honey exhibition dubbed ‘Dar es Salaam Honey Exhibition’ the first ever to be held in the country. The Premier, after having walked round various stalls and saw for himself various qualities of honey, became so impressed by the packaging system of honey products, and hailed some local traders and urged them to maintain their status and seek for ‘TBS’ labels to certify their products in order to win trade competition at local and international markets. He told them that, the local market has been increasing year after year attracting people to use honey for different purposes and that such an increase is as a result of high demand of the product by people who currently knows the importance of the honey due to the continued sensitization of the product in the country. The occasion which was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in cooperation with Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) and other stakeholders from beekeeping sector had been given a national status under the theme titled, “Honey for Health and Prosperity” The objective of the exhibition was to secure reliable markets for local beekeepers and their products whereby several showcases were delivered by stakeholders to show goers who were informed by exhibitors on the benefits of honey and learn about beekeeping in general.

Tanzania's Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda

They also had the opportunity to taste and buy quality honey which was on display at their stalls. In his speech, the Premier said that, there is a great demand of the locally produced honey in the international market which has been noticed to surpass the local production, giving an example in the Europe saying that it leads in using honey with approximately 25 percentage rate of all honey sold worldwide. He said in 2009, 249,700 tones which is equivalent to 54.4 percent of honey exported to Europe came from the developing countries, citing German being the leading European country for the consumption of honey. At the local level, the Premier noted that, Tanzania has maintained its local market at approximately 413.3 tones of honey which according to the prime minister is a little quantity that is not enough to cater even for the local consumption and exports as well. In view of this, he is strongly insisting for the stakeholders to increase production. Meanwhile, the PM has challenged district executives in the country from areas where beekeeping is taking place to empower youths and indigenous Tanzanians by providing them with some portions of their land forests within their respective districts which they see could be suitable for the economic development of beekeeping activities. The premier who is also a beekeeper, has urged key stakeholders to help promote the sector by following the national policy on beekeeping of 2008 which he said part of it concerns with the growth of industries related with honey materials and most important is a way to reduce poverty among young Tanzanians. However, he said that the involvement of youths in beekeeping would bring benefits to the nation as many youths who tread in towns and cities looking for better life would mind to stay in their localities and engage in the business. He has also cautioned against wanton felling of trees and other vegetations which are a good source of attraction of bees in their search of nectar from them. However, he also cautioned indiscriminate setting of fire on forests, as the act causes degradation and destroys natural resources.