Beekeeping in Tanzania plays a major role in socio-economic development and environmental conservation. It is a source of food (e.g. honey, pollen and brood), raw materials for various industries (e.g. beeswax candles, lubricants), medicine (honey, propolis, beeswax bee venom) and source of income for beekeepers. It is estimated that the sector generates about US$ 1.7 million each year from sales of honey and beeswax and employ about 2 million rural people. It is an important income generating activity with high potential for improving incomes, especially for communities leaving close to forests and woodlands. Beekeeping also plays a major role in improving biodiversity and increasing crop production through pollination.
Beekeeping in Tanzania is carried out using traditional methods that account for 99% of the total production of honey and beeswax in the country. Approximately 95% of all hives are traditional including log and bark hives.
Although honeybee and stingless colonies are not regarded by many as livestock, the role they play in agriculture and ecology is more important than that of any other domesticated animal. They are an indispensable link in the ecological chain and are directly responsible through pollination for the survival of many plants. Some of these plants are crops that are essential food for the nation and huge earners of foreign exchange. Research on the beekeeping remains therefore essential.
To download the master plan, please click below link
National Beekeeping Research Master Plan of Tanzania
