Tzaneen: To be or not to be a Beekeeper
Mofokeng from Tzaneen has 100 beehives and he joined the association after suffering major losses to his bee colonies due to poisons used for crop irrigation.
An initiative set to improve production, cut losses and increase turnover has emerged and local beekeepers are urged to step forward and join the adventure.
The Limpopo Bee Industry Association (LBIA) has embarked on a new adventure and they are calling upon all Limpopo based beekeepers to join the association. According to statistics, South Africa is estimated to consume approximately 4000 tons of honey per year, while the country only produces around 2000 tons per annum.
It is stated by the LBIA that in most provinces there are organisational or institutional structures that represent hobbyists, small holder and commercial beekerps. “However, for Limpopo, it has been 25 years of government investment into apiary projects without industry structure to absorb and stimulate capacity for further growth,” read a statement released by the LBIA.
Within the association’s appeal for beekeepers to join, Riaan Hendricks, the founder of the association stated that it is not just business strategists who should see this as a government related development opportunity.
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“The core volume of our anticipated membership are not necessarily business strategists who have their pulse on government related development opportunities – neither are they necessarily resourced to present a satisfying business plan that will secure investment into their apiary ventures.Instead, most of them are grassroots beekeepers engaged with beekeeping to help fend off hunger and poverty. Yet, they operate within the context of enormous economic opportunity. We must make a concerted effort to create an enabling environment that seeks to increase the level of industry participation and market share of beekeepers from historically marginalised communities. Other than this development objective, our vision is to unify the beekeeping industry and to speak in one voice on matters affecting us,” said Hendricks.
Hedricks made examples of three locals that have joined the association and are ready to make changes in order to improve productions.
One such local being Kamohelo Mofokeng, from Tzaneen.
Mofokeng has 100 beehives and he joined the association after suffering major losses to his bee colonies due to poisons used for crop irrigation.
An emerging beekeeper from Mokopane, Kgorutlhe Maakamedi, spoke of how it was not easy to speak of the challenges he faces due to the fact that there aren’t too many beekeepers he can interact with around his area.
“Through strategic partnership and stakeholder engagement, we aim to develop the full apiculture potential of the province and harvest the benefits thereof to counter unemployment, provide food security, stimulate entrepreneurship and have a positive impact on the agricultural industry and our national economy at large,” Hendricks concluded.
The Limpopo Bee Industry Association can be contacted at limpopo@beekeeper.co.za or 076-483- 0503. Ask for Riaan (English/Afrikaans) or Tebogo (Sepedi)
