What problem or need is the project addressing?
Over 58% of Kenyans struggle to survive on less than £1 ($2) a day. 25% of the population and 35% of those under the poverty line live in what are known as arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs).
These are fragile environments, with low and unreliable rainfall and vulnerable to frequent drought. Land degradation and depletion of water resources in ASALs are worsening as population grows, and their mainly pastoralist communities are becoming increasingly food insecure and impoverished.
Production of honey is one of the few alternative means of earning an income, but at the moment there is little incentive for farmers in ASAL areas to produce honey, because the returns they achieve from sales are so low. This is due to a highly inefficient market chain.
These farmers live in remote rural areas and are very dispersed, so getting their honey to market is difficult. Traders in the area usually have little specialist knowledge and often engage in honey trading on an ad hoc basis.
Both beekeepers and traders have little access to market information (which types of honey are selling well, what quality levels are expected and so on). This results in a large number of erratic and low-volume transactions – an inefficient way to operate, making costs high.
Often the only way to get the honey to market is to sell through intermediaries, to a few urban buyers/exporters. There is a high level of distrust along the market chain, resulting in cheating, high costs, and ultimately lower profits for all involved.
What is the project doing?
If the problems along the market chain can be resolved, then the potential for income generation from honey production in ASAL areas is significant.
The situation is complex however, so before we launch into a full-scale project we are conducting a study to look at the marketing of honey and the power dynamics in the honey market chain.
The results of this study will help us to develop a project that is appropriate to the situation on the ground.
What impact has the project had?
The study has already identified commercial honey processors who are committed to growing the honey industry in Kenya.
We will work with them to develop alternative, more sustainable marketing systems, and will explore the potential for setting up an intermediary organisation that will help link beekeepers more effectively to the market.
This will lead to a longer-term project to address the problems in the honey market chain, so beekeepers can increase their income and look forward to a brighter future.
Our local partner
The study is being conducted in collaboration with our local partner SITE Enterprise Promotion, a Kenyan NGO whose goal is the promotion of employment opportunities and economic growth among small-scale producers.
SITE is already working with beekeepers in ASAL areas with a UK-based partner APT. Their REVCO project is helping beekeepers to establish groups so that they can bulk their honey and market it together, and also benefit from training in production and collection techniques, quality control and marketing.
The Plan Bee project will build upon and complement this existing work, by linking these groups to markets for their honey.
How is this project funded?
The feasibility study has been funded by Comic Relief.
