- Apiculture is emerging as a sustainable and profitable farming practice, offering farmers an alternative source of income while enhancing food security and environmental conservation.
- Martin Kiravuka’s journey from traditional beekeeping to modern apiculture highlights how innovation, proper species selection, and market access can significantly increase honey production and earnings.
- Despite its benefits, beekeeping faces challenges such as climate change, high input costs, limited equipment, and low community awareness, which continue to hinder its full potential.
Digitization and innovation continue to reshape agriculture as farmers seek sustainable ways to improve food security amid declining production. Across the country, many have shifted from conventional practices to modern farming methods in a bid to increase yields and reduce costs. While zero grazing has become common in dairy and poultry farming, apiculture is emerging as a quiet but powerful alternative.
In Jepseri village, Jepkoyayi ward in Hamisi sub county, Vihiga County, one farmer is proving that beekeeping can be both profitable and sustainable. Martin Kiravuka, a beekeeper with nineteen years of experience, has turned apiculture into a reliable source of income and a cornerstone of his livelihood.
At his homestead, surrounded by shrubs and the unmistakable scent of honey, Kiravuka recalls how his journey began in 2007 with just three beehives. “In the family my grandfather was a bee farmer and he was the one coaching me,” he says. By 2021, he had expanded to fourteen hives. Following his grandfather’s death, he inherited an additional twenty one, bringing the total to thirty five. He has since added three more, raising the number to thirty eight.
Kiravuka admits that his early years in beekeeping relied heavily on traditional methods. “Though much of the time we were doing it on traditional level because we had not learned much on current technology,” he explains. The introduction of modern practices marked a turning point. “When technology came in I started improving from traditional bee hives to modern ones with an aim of increasing production,” he adds.
His decision to venture into apiculture was largely influenced by the nature of his land. Rocky and steep terrain made large scale crop farming difficult, pushing him to explore alternatives that required less space but offered higher returns.
Today, his efforts are paying off. Under unfavorable weather conditions, each hive produces about twenty five kilograms of honey every thirty days. Across his apiary, he harvests between fifty eight and sixty kilograms. “Under normal weather conditions there is plenty to smile about, a single harvest gives a rough estimate of three hundred and fifty kilograms,” he discloses.
The market for honey remains strong due to high demand and limited supply. “The market price for honey is quite high due to its scarcity nature and high market demand,” Kiravuka says, noting that his product sells at one thousand shillings per kilogram. “When the markets are too bad the product goes at eight hundred shillings per kilo but in rare occasions.”
His reach extends far beyond his locality. “Am not only limited to local clients as well I have customers as far as Nairobi, Mombasa, Ukambani and other areas of the country,” he explains. Distribution depends on customer arrangements. “Basing on how we have agreed with the customer there are those who come to collect, others I have to send to them as a parcel while there are those I deliver in person as well,” he adds.
Kiravuka emphasizes that success in beekeeping depends on the choice of bee species. “Just like livestock, one has to select cows for high yields and so is for bees,” he says. He keeps both stinging and stingless bees, including Apis mellifera and Apis cerana, as well as the stingless Meliponula ferruginea. Each species occupies its own hive and does not mix.
Beyond honey production, apiculture offers a wide range of benefits. Bees provide food in the form of larvae, which can be consumed as a protein rich delicacy. Beeswax is used in making candles and shoe polish, creating additional income streams. The presence of bees also enhances security, deterring intruders from accessing the farm.
Beekeeping further promotes agroforestry, as farmers are encouraged to plant and conserve trees to create suitable environments for bees. It allows efficient use of limited land and plays a crucial role in pollination, improving crop yields.
Kiravuka also points to medicinal benefits associated with bee products. “Two to three bee stings a month keeps malaria away,” he claims, adding that his encounters with bee stings have made him less susceptible to the disease. He also notes that bee stings help manage conditions such as arthritis, while propolis is effective in treating stomach upsets.
Despite these advantages, apiculture is not without challenges. Changing weather patterns have significantly affected production. “Of late we have experienced heavy rains and this is extremely unbearable to them,” he says. “This has cut me down, losing a swarm that left me with four empty beehives.” He explains that extreme weather forces bees indoors, where they consume stored honey, leaving little for harvest.
Limited access to modern processing equipment is another setback. “Currently we use smokers and strainers in harvesting and processing our honey which does a shoddy work. We really need centrifugal machines for fine honey and other by products,” he says.
Rising costs of inputs have also strained farmers. “Not long ago a standard beehive was selling at two thousand five hundred shillings but now things have changed, we are forced to purchase the same beehive at seven thousand shillings,” he laments.
Community awareness remains a concern. “Sometime back, rogue children would go around picking and throwing stones in my beehives, this really cost me,” he recalls. “It was a tremor, the entire village was forced into vanishing.” He believes that lack of understanding about the benefits and risks of bees continues to hinder the sector.
Even with these challenges, Kiravuka earns between fifty eight thousand and sixty thousand shillings monthly from honey sales. For him, apiculture is more than just farming. It is a dependable source of income and a vital pillar of his life.
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