Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
smokers to immobilize the bees, after which the honeycombs are removed from
the beehives and centrifugal extractors are used to release the honey.
Harvesting is done several times a year except during the rainy season. The major
harvesting periods in southern Ghana are February, March, April, November, and
December. The farmers receive extension training and support for proper harvest-
ing techniques from extension officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, some NGOs,
and from expert farmers in PLEC associations of farmers.
Disease and pest management
The African honeybee is an efficient housekeeper. The hive and the entrance are
continuously cleaned and waxed by the bees. This considerably reduces disease
incidence. However, a number of pests have been reported. These include wax
moths, wasps and hornets, ants, lizards, and mites. Disease control is achieved by
maintaining a sanitary environment around the hives.
Benefits derived from beekeeping
Beekeeping does not only offer a tangible source of income for the rural farmer,
it also plays a fundamental role in conservation of natural vegetation. The bene-
fits of beekeeping include the following:
•
increased pollination of flowering plants, increased seed set and yield in flow-
ering agricultural plants, and regeneration of forests and other vegetation from
seeds
•
higher crop yields resulting from enhanced pollination by honeybees
•
stimulation of interest in conservation of forests and other vegetation that form
the base of the industry
•
creation of job opportunities for beekeepers who provide supporting services
•
improvement in farmer livelihoods through enhanced income, food security,
nutrition, and health
•
income from the sale of honey, the primary product
•
income from the sale of medicinally useful propolis, a sticky, gummy, resinous
substance that the bees gather from barks and buds of plants during foraging
for use in mending the beehive and sealing cracks in it
•
income from beeswax, which is used for manufacturing candles
•
energy derived by human beings from consumption of honey
•
traditional medicinal uses of honey, notably in the treatment of common
coughs
•
potential of becoming an important source of foreign exchange.
Benefits associated with PLEC-supported beekeeping by smallholder farmers
in Sekesua-Osonson, a PLEC demonstration site in southern Ghana, are discussed
by Gyasi and Nartey (2003).
