SOS SAHEL – ESTABLISHING PRODUCER
CO-OPS IN ETHIOPIA TO COMMERCIALISE HONEY MARKETING
Mulufird Ashagrie, SOS Sahel, Ethiopia

Amhara Bees’ Products Development & Marketing Cooperatives’ Performances

SOS SAHEL ETHIOPIA is a non-governmental, non-profit organization

• Engaged in natural resource management & agricultural development
• It operates in most parts of the country
• Currently it has smallholder market development projects on bees’ products, forest coffee & spices in the Amhara and Southern regions
• This presentation focuses only on the apiculture development & market promotion support in Amhara Region

DESCRIPTION OF THE ONGOING PROJECT

1. Background Information of the Project

• Project title: Smallholder Apiculture Development and Bees’ Products Trade Promotion Programme
• Project location: Bahir Dar Zuria, Gondar Zuria, Meket, Dangila, Wereillu, and Gozamin
• Project goal: Contribution to the economic and social development of smallholder farmers in the Amhara Region.
• Purpose: To create market for Bees products through organization of beekeepers into a commercial entity, production of value-added hive products and creating link between local producers and new market outlets.
• Donor Agency: The Royal Netherlands Government
• Implementing Agency: SOS Sahel Ethiopia in collaboration with the regional Cooperative Promotion Bureau
• Project owner: The six Bees’ products development and marketing cooperatives
• Actual start of implementation: July 2003
• Primary targets: smallholder rural beekeeper farmers in the target Woredas

2. Apiculture Development Background of the Region & the Target Six
Woredas (Districts)

Natural resources

• The rainfall & vegetation conditions are suitable
• Honeybee population density and productivity are good
• Large areas of lands, unsuitable for cultivation and livestock grazing, are conducive for beekeeping
• 20,000 sq kmland or 12% of the total area of the region is wetland
• Oils, pulses, cereal crops and field flowers grown in the region are contributing to the development of Apiculture

Cultural practices

Farmer beekeepers of the region have well developed and
long standing traditional

• beekeeping skills
• indigenous knowledge
• intimacy to their colonies

Honey production

• In Amhara region approximately 7000 tonnes of honey are produced annually (2001/02 CSA census report)
• This accounts nearly 25% of the total honey production of the country
• In terms of productivity N. Gonder, W. Gojjam, and Wag Humra are the highest in
  the region.
  

Honeybee population & production of the region

Zones	Honeybee colonies	Honey production in kg	Productivity yield/colony
North Gonder	163,457	1,392,384	8.5
South Gonder	127,529	897,025	7.0
North Wollo	61,736	350,797	5.7
South Wollo	118,399	696,306	5.9
North Shewa	67,939	344,678	5.1
East Gojjam	89,420	644,167	7.2
West Gojjam	132,716	1,297,704	9.8
Wag Humra	67,224	659,454	9.8
Awi	67,768	537,304	8.0
Oromia	18,787	155,968	8.3
Total	917,460	6,975,787	7.6

 

In terms of quality

The moisture content of the honey from this region < 18%,

• Honey from the Region is good for table honey
  - Which attracts honey packers
  - To blend with other honey
• It is also chosen for tej production for its high concentration

Honeybee population and honey production in the target Woredas

Woreda	No. of households (HHs)	No. of HH who are beekeepers	% of HH who are beekeepers	No. of colonies	Honey production per year (100 kg)
Gonder	52,742	4,235	8.0	14,635	1,612
Meket	53,143	3,036	5.7	9,108	1,032
Woreilu	36,108	1,814	5.0	5,543	512
Gozmen	47,122	5,975	13	7,897	286
Dangla	28,516	5648	19.8	23,127	1,745
Bahrdar	31,973	2165	6.7	13,134	1,244
Total	202,482	16,898	9.0	65,547	6,145

Production and management

Traditional beekeeping

In traditional honey production systems, the production expenses are establishment and minimum labour costs

• purchasing of traditional hives (5-10 birr)
• purchasing of honey bee colonies
  (120 – 200 birr)
• labour for construction of hive stand and shelter
• average honey yield is < 10kg per colony

Intermediate beekeeping

The establishment costs for intermediate technology hives are low

• Can be constructed at home (50-80 birr)
• Honeybee colony (120-200 birr)
• There are difficulties in production of top bars
• The yield is 20kg per colony

Box hive beekeeping

The establishment cost for box hive beekeeping is more expensive (400 birr)

• Requires accessories (further cost)
• Requires skill training
• The yield can be 30 kg per colony

 

Generally indicates the possibilities of harvesting and supplying

- different types of honey
- at different time
- in different Woredas.

But, requires separate

- collection and
- processing
- labelling
- to meet different market targets.

Honey harvesting periods

	Woredas
Harvesting period	Gond	Bahr	Dan	Mek.	Wor.	Goza
Oct - Nov	XXX	XXX	XXX	XX	XX	XX
Nov - Dec	XX	XX
Apr - May	X		XX	XXX	XX	XX
Aug - Sep					XX

Summary of Key Actors in the apiculture sub-sector

• beekeepers
• local honey collectors
• medium merchants
• cooperatives
• tej houses
• big honey verandah
• honey processors
• beeswax processors
• retailers
• input suppliers and
• exporters

Summary of actors and functions in the apiculture sub-sector

Value chain	Actor	Function
Input supply	Fellow farmers	Provide swarm, hives & feeds
Production	Small scale farmers	Tending, sheltering, feed provision & forage planting
Harvesting & handling	Small scale farmers	Honey harvesting, storing & transporting. Maintaining quality
Honey collection at farm	Farmer, merchants, cooperatives and processors	Collect honey from farmers at farm or village
Honey collection at Woreda/main markets	Honey verandas Woreda merchant	Honey collection, storage, preliminary processing
Processing and Export/domestic marketing	Processing unit at Addis Ababa	Collect, temporary storage, grading and supply to local & external retailers

Principal marketing channels

In honey and beeswax value chain 4 major channels are observed:

• tej production channel
• Honey processors and exporters channel
• Beeswax processors and exporter channel
• Household consumers' channel

High export potential

For many reasons the country and the region have great potential to export both honey and beeswax

• large volume of honey
• special uni-floral honeys
• different honey harvesting periods
• possibilities of production of organic honey
• being neighbour to high honey consumer Arab countries
  

3. Project outputs

• Creation of farmers-beekeepers cooperatives and/or a union
• Creation of six collection and processing centres and provision of credit
• Creation of market opportunities for honey and related products
• Establishment of an apiculture resource centre for the region

Provision of technical knowledge to small holder farmers (concerning sustainable honey and beeswax harvesting, processing and marketing)

4. Strategies and approaches

• Enhancement of farmers’ entrepreneurship skill (producing-processing-marketing)
• Creating local and overseas market links (niche markets)
• Private-public partnership promotion
• Application of value-chain approaches
• Enhancing bargaining powers
• Involving all the stakeholders (public, private, CBOs)

5. Project performances

Six primary and one secondary cooperatives established and well functioning:

Processes

• Cross visits to similar coops in other Regions
• Familiarization visits and awareness creation
• Workshop was conducted at Bahir Dar to share knowledge and experiences among participants on the importance and challenges of cooperative societies
• Training for organizers (extension workers)
• Preliminary socio-economic survey was conducted.
• Training was organized for beekeepers.
• Organizing committees established
• Model bye-laws were produced and general assembly meetings were organize

The established cooperatives by Woreda

No	Woreda	Name of co-op	No. of members to date
1	Gondar zuria	Biruh tesfa	180
2	Bahir Dar zuria	Yetanazuria abeba	422
3	Danigla	Agunta	384
4	Meket	Marotie	511
5	Gozamin	Tsedey	128
6	Woreillu	Adey Ababa	312
		Total	1937

Member cooperatives of the established union

				Members
No	Zone	Woreda	Co-op Name	Male	Female	Total
1	North Gondar	Gondar Zuria	Biruh Tesfa	174	6	180
2	South Gondar	Libokemkem	Addis Alem	131	3	134
3	West Gojjam	Bahir Dar Zuria	Yetan Zuria Abeba	421	1	422
4	Awi	Dangila	Agunta	383	1	384
5	Awi	Guangua	Andinet	136	-	136
6	East Gojjam	Gozamin	Tsedey	128	-	128
7	North Wello	Meket	Marotie	504	7	511
8	South Wello	Debre-sina	Limmesk	204	9	213
			Total	2081	27	2108

Establishment of Collection and Processing Centres

• Its main function is product diversification, value addition, packaging and functioning as a means of collecting honey and beeswax from beekeepers, organising certification, and arranging its onward sale.
• Before the finalization of the construction of the CPCs the project availed temporary CPCs.
• The temporary CPCs were equipped with necessary equipment, facilities and personnel and honey processing has been undertaken in all coops successfully in these temporary centres.
• The bookkeeping systems of the temporary collection and processing centres have been established and used to provide on job training on product processing, packaging, labelling and delivering.
• The construction of four permanent CPCs has been completed and the remaining two will be finalized soon
• Access to credit enhanced
  
  

One of the four newly built CPCs

Improved Containers

Creation of Market Opportunities

• New market links have been created and potential markets are being explored
• Different market assessments were undertaken
• Different promotional mixes were employed (TV, exhibitions, personal selling, networking, etc.)
• Farmers skills and capacities were enhanced to actively involve in the sales activities.
• Two distributing agents are established for Addis Ababa and its surroundings.
• Retail sales outlets established in Dessie, Gondar and Bahir Dar but currently they are replaced by container shops managed by the coops themselves.
• Label and trademark is developed and well promoted
• Contract is signed between the cooperatives and three exporters (Alrejawi Business Group, ODCOM PLC & Asnake Exporter)
• They are organic certified
  

Capacity building

• Training in marketing, cooperative management, beekeeping techniques and bookkeeping were organised at all Woredas
• Regular on-the-job trainings are given to the coops on marketing techniques, labelling and packaging, cost-effectiveness, quality control and processing, and in basic principles and systems of cooperatives such as management, accounting
• Extension workers were trained in all above mentioned topics

Making Extension Agents Supporters of Beekeepers

 

6. Impacts of the project

Attitudinal change towards:

• Honey cropping
• Business enterprise
• Coop principles, values and collective benefits

Economic Benefits:

• Members have attained good income from price improvement.
• Average dividend gain per member (35-674 Birr)/Season
• Economies of scale in honey production
• Product diversification
• Improvement in food/livelihood security
• Enhancement of Private Traders/ Century, Beza, etc. contribution to the national economy
  

Social Benefits:

• Raising bargaining position and competitiveness in the open market
• Creation of human capital through extension and training services
• Creation of viable and self-governing farmers’ organizations
• Employment generation
• Forward and backward economic linkages

Technological benefits:

• Some members have acquired skill and are even able to produce
  top-bar hives
• Transfer of knowledge and skill of processing, constructing etc,

Wider development impacts:

• Commitment from the regional government to replication the project interventions in other 20 Woredas.
• Some neighbouring Woreda beekeepers have started to organize themselves into marketing cooperatives.

7. Challenges

• As the activity is new, it required high attention to act at each step and deploy a highly pronounced amount of personnel, capital and time.
• It was difficult for the project to export honey to the EU because our country is not on the list of honey exporters, not fair-trade registered and there are other trade protection policies.
• The involvement of the stakeholders in the marketing component of the project is found to be insignificant.
• Fast crystallization of crude honey, was the main drawback to process the honey in an easy and simple way.
• Consumers’ misconception regarding granulated honey. The local consumers mistook crystallized honey as being adulterated.
• During the first year of the project, coops purchased honey at higher prices and this negatively affected the sales performance of the same.
• Difficulty in changing subsistence farmers into entrepreneurs in a short period of time.
  

8. Lessons learnt

• Honey processing is improved from the practice on the field in addition to establishing a well equipped processing plant.
• In terms of price the local market is better than the overseas and hence the local market should be given due attention in the short run.
• When production gets feed-back from the market, quality gets improved.
• As promotion enhances sales it should be done aggressively and proffessionally
  The involvement of the private sector in a value chain facilitates the transformation of subsistence farmers to commercial ones.
• A commercial project (especially the agricultural commodity marketing) to be successful demands the involvement and full-hearted commitment of all stakeholders from all walks of walk, and the positive thinking of all staff, within the institution.
• Working with different stakeholders, Govts, NGOs and private sectors help develop strong teamwork spirit and good experiences to deal with different people and institutions smoothly, to achieve the purpose.
• It is possible to adopt and disseminate skills and technologies easily if the right extension approach is followed.
• Farmers’ confidence and negotiation power rises when they become organized in the way that they have their own dependable economic and social institution.
• "Supply can create its own demand", for it has been seen that consumers shift from consuming crude honey to processed one even at higher prices.
• Product diversification improves farmers’ income and entrepreneurship skills
  

THE WAY FORWARD

1. Importance to continue

• Scaling up (geography/sector)
• Consolidation
• Diversification

2. Approach

• Competitiveness
• Conformance
• Connecting
• Involving

3. Major interventions

• Farmers’ organization
• Product collection and processing
• Product marketing
• Technology development
• Inclusion of women and youth
• Strengthening the union
• Capacity building

  Download Mulufird Ashagrie's PowerPoint presentation here (1.45mb .pps file)