Yielding bee species in Africa reside in Nigeria due to favourable climate, but…—Abbas
Indications have emerged showing that Nigeria has a clear comparative advantage over the rest of Africa in the production and export of honey.
This is based on the fact that research has shown that Nigeria has the potential to produce 20 million litres of honey annually from the current two million.
Explaining more on why Nigeria should step up investments in the sub-sector, the official in-charge of Apiculture at Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Kano State, Mr Dauda Abbas, said “We have the potential to produce that because majority of bee species in Africa reside in Nigeria due to favourable climatic conditions”.
He made the disclosure after a three-day training on poultry, fisheries and bee-keeping organised for members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), saying “The current production of honey liquid in Nigeria is two million but the expected production is 20 million”.
He noted that “Tanzania and Kenya produce more honey than Nigeria,” due to their government’s provision of enabling incentives and infrastructures for investors.
According to him, Adamawa, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States as well as the Federal Capital Territory were producing most of the nation’s honey.
Though he was silent on honey producing activities in South East, studies by the Business Hilights Intelligence Unit (BHIU), show that Enugu State and particularly Nsukka region, is the highest producer of original honey both for export and domestic sales over the years.
However, successive administrations in the State government have not done much to grow the investment
Abbas expressed regret that Nigeria was producing below its capacity in honey due to lack of commitment from government, noting that “We have all the climatic conditions that bees required, only that we are not encouraged to live up to expectations; this aspect of agriculture is neglected by the government”.
“People consider bees as nuisance but bees are friends that can live with human beings at homes, farms, forests and elsewhere. So, we need more enlightenment on that by the media,’’ he said.
Continuing, Abbas argued that beekeeping was not a money-intensive venture, as all that was required was to mount hives for bees to produce honey and ensure places for them to collect nectar from trees.
On the general importance of honey, Abbas, who revealed that honey could be used for medicinal purposes, explained that bees produce venom that could be used for treatment of rashes, cancer, stroke and hypertension.
