Beekeeping changing lives
PRODUCTION has doubled at the US$150 000 Chiningu Honey and Agro-Processing Centre in Nyanga South, with beneficiaries aiming to surpass last year’s sales.
The centre is the brainchild of Programme for Growth and Resilience (Progress).
The consortium comprises International Rescue Committee, BioHub Trust and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) while the project is funded by UNDP’s Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF).
The facility is now managed by a 40-member group which comprises 29 females and 11 males drawn from wards 17, 18 and 30.
They were trained on village savings, sustainable harvesting, marketing and business management.
Beneficiaries interviewed said they were targeting to penetrate the regional market.
“We can now afford to send our children to school and sustain our families from the profits we are realising.
“Per week, I can sell an average of 15kg of honey. One hive produces 30kg and we are selling a kilogramme at an approximate cost of ZW$30,” said Mr Johnson Chirongo.
In addition to honey processing, Chiningu also produces dried vegetables, indigenous teas, peanut butter and grain snacks.
Ms Annie Nyahokwe said: “Since we started processing honey at this plant, our lives have changed. The honey industry used to be male dominated, but we have also ventured into the value addition chain. Through Progress, we were trained on modern honey production and processing technologies that are compatible with women. We are now proud owners of beehives and we have become friends to our environment.”
Another beneficiary, Mr Nesbert Nyemba, said: “The project has transformed us as youths. We now have a fair access to income as this has created jobs which were hard to come by in rural communities like ours. We are really grateful. I can now afford to send my siblings to school.”
The project’s senior officer, Mr Kennedy Mukonyora, said honey production and value addition could transform communities as it did not require much capital.
Progress equipped the facility with honey machinery, solar dryers, gas stoves, a tricycle and a borehole, while the local community chipped in with labour and construction aggregate.
IRC country director Mr Zvidzai Maburutse, who is also the chairman of Progress, said: “Our aim on this project was for communities, particularly women, to explore the beekeeping project. It has really improved the economic fortunes of the people in Nyanga’s drought-prone areas.
“Some parts of Nyanga North and South are dry, the rains have not been forthcoming.
“We want them to expand their market and sell their products in Nyanga, Mutare, Harare and other areas. We are working with the relevant stakeholders to make bee-keeping more viable so that it can transform thousands of lives. The product should always meet the required standards.”