Tanzania starts preparations for international beekeeping conference

Dar es Salaam. The government has started preparations to host the 50th Apimondia Conference to be held in Arusha in 2027 and expects to bring together more than 6,000 beekeeping stakeholders worldwide.

Among the preparations is the selection of a committee that will involve stakeholders from inside and outside the country, with the goal being to share experiences on how to make the conference a success.

Apimondia is an International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations that brings together beekeepers, manufacturers of beekeeping equipment, and a wide variety of scientists involved in apiculture, apitherapy, pollination, development, and economics.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Ms Angellah Kairuki, said yesterday while briefing journalists about Tanzania being nominated by Apimondia to host the 50th Congress that it is a great opportunity that will improve the beekeeping and forestry sectors and increase the country’s economy.

“There are several factors that contributed to many stakeholders voting for our country; for example, we are number 14 in the world and second in Africa for producing honey and other bee products, but also for forest conservation, so we call on our investors to be excited about the opportunities in the next meeting,” he said.

Ms Kairuki added that the government, in collaboration with the private sector, will provide various training and education to beekeepers across the country on how they can use modern technologies to increase production and encourage investors to start renovating hotels and building new ones so that they can afford visitors.

In addition, soon the government, through the Tanzania Forestry Services Agency (TFS), will launch a total of six existing factories in various regions that will help increase the value of honey and enable farmers to sell to the international market.

She said the production of honey stands at 38,000 tonnes per year alone; however, the potential is 132,000 tonnes, adding that the strategy was to help stakeholders reach that number by giving them modern beehives.

For his part, TFS chief executive officer Prof Dos Santos Silayo said a number of efforts have been taken by them to improve the beekeeping sector, such as allowing people living near forest conservation areas to keep beehives as part of increasing their income and protecting the forest.