NIGERIA: Poor Nigerians in the south-west of the country have taken to keeping bees as a way to generate income in an area where honey is believed to have strong medicinal qualities

Record ID: 235485

  • Title: NIGERIA: Poor Nigerians in the south-west of the country have taken to keeping bees as a way to generate income in an area where honey is believed to have strong medicinal qualities
  • Date: 6th February 2012
  • Summary: OGUN, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) BEES FLYING IN AND OUT OF HIVE BEE HIVE VARIOUS OF BEE FARMER CHECKING BEE HIVE MORE OF BEES (SOUNDBITE) (English) OLUWATOYI OGATIMIRIN, BEE FARMER SAYING: "Internationally, people cry of (talk a lot about) bee keeping, bee keeping, honey is very good for you, I just feel well its okay for me, and when I consider a litre of honey, what does it cost me to produce here? Except for the hazards. A litre goes for a minimum of one thousand five hundred (niare) (10 US dollars)." BEE HIVE VARIOUS OF HONEY SELLER (SOUNDBITE) (Yoruba) TOYIN ALABEDE, BUSINESSWOMAN SAYING: "The reason why I buy honey from the farmer is because I don't want the honey that is being mixed I want it in its pure form. Once it is time for it to be harvested, I will go to the farmers right out into the bush where they make a profession from bee keeping. I fill up my kegs there and buy it and bring it to the city to store them in my shop. Its good for people who want to treat hypertension, asthma or stomach pain. My customers know that once they get to my place they will get real, pure honey to buy." VARIOUS OF FAMILY DRINKING TEA/POURING HONEY (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOLASHADE OJEBIYI, LOCAL RESIDENT SAYING: "It is expensive and its scarce but the medicinal benefit of honey is what we are after. While taking sugar, it adds more problems to your body but with honey you are free, no health problems whatsoever." STREET IN OGUN STATE
  • Embargoed: 21st February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Business,Environment,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVAEFXZHAPXRWM3MLIZQC7QMVZD5
  • Story Text: Bee keeping is proving to be an increasingly sweet money earner for poor communities living in the rural south-west of Nigeria. Keeping bees requires little land and a minimal amount of labour, which, coupled with the fact the initial investment is relatively low, makes it the ideal choice for farmers struggle to eek a subsistence from the land.
    Honey-hunting where locals track down wild bees to harvest the honey, has long been practiced by communities in the area but enticing bees to live in specially built hives has dramatically improved productivity and profits.
    Oluwatoyi Ogatimirin is one of the more experienced bee farmers in the region. He says locals are only now waking up to the money making potential of honey.
    "Internationally, people cry of (talk a lot about) bee keeping, bee keeping, honey is very good for you, I just feel well its okay for me, and when I consider a litre of honey, what does it cost me to produce here? Except for the hazards. A litre goes for a minimum of one thousand five hundred (naire) (10 US dollars)," he said.
    Nowadays Oluwatoyi has more than 200 bee hives, each producing around ten to fifteen litres of honey.
    Which means when harvest time comes once a year Ogatimirin can make as much as three million naira ( 20,000 US dollars) from the sale of 2,000 litres of honey.
    For honey buyers like Toyin Alabede, purchasing fresh, home made honey from bee farmers like Oluwatoyi makes perfect sense. If she buys it from source she avoids paying a fee to middle men who take a cut of her profits and she can guarantee quality as well. She says lots of honey bought in shops is diluted or adulterated with other products or chemicals which makes it less tasty and less good for the consumer.
    "The reason why I buy honey from the farmer is because I don't want the honey that is being mixed I want it in its pure form. Once it is time for it to be harvested, I will go to the farmers right out into the bush where they make a profession from bee keeping. I fill up my kegs there and buy it and bring it to the city to store them in my shop. Its good for people who want to treat hypertension, asthma or stomach pain. My customers know that once they get to my place they will get real, pure honey to buy," she said.
    Alabede is not alone in believing honey has medicinal qualities. The substance has long been associated with curing certain maladies particularly by local healers who often recommend honey as a treatment for all sorts of common aches and pains.
    Many people also believe its better for you than sugar making it a healthier alternative sweetener for tea, cakes and other treats.
    "It is expensive and its scarce but the medicinal benefit of honey is what we are after. While taking sugar, it adds more problems to your body but with honey you are free, no health problems whatsoever," said Folashade Ojebiyi, a local resident.
    Bees are also said to help boost yields by pollinating crops, making them an environmentally friendly alternative to fertilizer and a good option for farmers hoping to continue other types of farming alongside.
    Nigeria is not currently a major honey producer and exporter however, farmers in the south-west say the country has what it takes to produce large amounts of honey given sufficient attention, education and funds.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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