Apiculture: a lucrative business for Lango to eradicate household poverty

By Isaac Okello (isaac.okello@vol.co.ug)

Lira

Senior presidential advisor on Lango affairs, Sam Engola has rallied people of Lango to embrace bee farming.

Engola made the call while distributing 580 bee hives to 58 youth groups of Awiodyek Sub County under Awiodyek Cooperative society, Lira District.

The bee hives were produced by Barkman Best Bees Company Limited.

He said there is ready market for honey in America, Netherlands, Britain, Germany and Japan besides the available domestic market where a kilo of honey goes for about 10,000 shillings.

Unfortunately, reports from the ministry indicates that the production of honey is still very low in Uganda.

Engola thanked the Chief Executive officer of Bark Man Best Bees Company Limited, Robert Okodia for training the youth of Awiodyek on bee keeping.

Apac District woman MP, Betty Engola who doubles as a member of the parliamentary trade committee called on the people of Lango to take up bee keeping to fight household poverty.

The CEO of Bark Man Best Bees Company Limited, Robert Okodia said they plan to train 700 youth in Lango and Acholi on bee keeping and then buy the honey from them.

Local bee farmers have been urged to shift away from the traditional way and adopt more modern techniques of the practice.

Today in many homes due to health reasons, honey has replaced sugar when it comes to tea time, with its by-products being more expensive than the honey, these include; pollen used in improvement of malnutrition, wax required in many industries for making soap, candles.

Bee farming can also help farmers in bringing more life to their farms during pollination.