Mwingi women encouraged to take up bee-keeping

Women in Mwingi North, especially in Ngomeni ward, have been encouraged to take up beekeeping due to the declining food production and water scarcity.

The rainfall is insufficient and unreliable, hence the importance of embarking on the lucrative bee-keeping to reduce poverty, Kitui value chain addition specialist Temi Mutia said.

He spoke during a visit to Ngomeni Beekeepers Cooperative Society where he issued members with a certificate, honey production equipment, among other bee farming kits.

He gave them 50 smokers, 50 pairs of gumboots, 50 pairs of gloves, 50 bee suits, and 100 airtight harvesting buckets.

The county government has been training farmers on modern beekeeping technology to boost honey production.

“It is time our farmers, especially in Mwingi North, focused on bee-keeping, work together in cooperatives to increase productivity and profitability for the people at the grassroots level,” Mutia said.

The county has five bee farmers cooperatives with about 10,000 members and  100,000 beehives.

Ngomeni bee-keepers' cooperative treasurer Anna Mulwa, who has over 30 beehives, urged women to focus more on apiary as it is more profitable than traditional crop farming.

She identified ignorance of modern bee farming as the main hindrance of successful bee-keeping,

She was grateful to the county government for the onging training to improve yields.

- mwaniki fm