Research Article Open Access

Honey Production System in Buno Bedele and Ilu Abba Bora Zones, South Western Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Beekeeping is rearing or keeping of bees to get its products such as honey, pollen grain, proplis and brood. This study was conducted in Buno Bedele and Ilu Abba Bora zone, with the aim to assess honey production system, identify opportunities of beekeeping and major honey production constraints in study area. Hence, 3 districts from each zone and 15 Kebele in 6 districts were selected by purposely sampling methods and also 270 households were selected. Semi-structured questionnaire data was generated by conducting household survey interview, focal group discussion, and direct field observation were applied. According to, the outcomes of this study have shown that, traditional beekeeping (47.3%), box hive beekeeping (30.1%) and transition beekeeping system (22.6%) are at beekeepers in study area. The result indicated that the productivity of honey yield from one traditional hive has average 7.98 kg/year, whereas 16.75 kg/year obtain from one transitional hive and average of productivity per Box hive was 21.23 kg/year at study area. Most beekeepers (61.5%) were harvest honey twice per a year in study area. The study shown that among ways of households started beekeeping practice are majority (68.2%) were started by learning from parent followed, learning from neighbour (20.7%), Through training (9.1%) and Self-initiative (2.2%). The major opportunity of beekeeping practice is Availability of flowering plants, demand of honey rise, government and non-government support natural resource conservation programs within beekeeping, a proper perception of the society of beekeeping, a suitable environment, Indigenous knowledge, availability of water and bee colonies. On the other hand, Pesticide and herbicide, Absconding, lack of bee forages and Disease were ranked as major constraints of beekeeping at study area. The study recommends that awareness should be created on all hive products through training for beekeepers specifically; on honeybee management, Pest and predator control methods and the research should be done on demonstrating of box hive on farmers.

Teklu Bira, Muleta Debela, Mosisa Mezgebu

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