A deep-dive into the Bees for Development traceability system

Over the past few years Bees for Development has been refining a traceability system designed to work in remote areas with no internet connection but that can give near live traceability data to honey buyers looking to buy honey produced through our projects.

Why is traceability important?

Traceability is an important part of any food production system. Knowing where problems originate, ensuring quality and being able to demonstrate the provenance of your products are crucial when selling food to a customer.

This is no simple task when your product is honey that comes from the dense forests of Anderacha in South West Ethiopia, or the wide Afram Plains of Ghana. These remote locations are difficult to reach and have limited connections with the markets they supply. So how can you sure up production systems such as these without enormous investment into infrastructure?

Registering beekeepers onto the traceability system – South West Ethiopia

Our traceability system

We have set up our system using using KoboToolbox – a free survey tool. KoboToolbox allows us to create mini surveys that can be filled in on a mobile phone in any language that is required. Using the mobile phones allows for a GPS location to be collected along with each survey form entry as well as a unique identifier so that we know exactly which phone was used and who filled in the forms.

Our system varies at each location we operate in as the processes used when buying honey at our processing centre in Ghana differ from when beekeepers are selling their honey through cooperatives in SW Ethiopia. However both are based on the same principles:

Firstly, each beekeeper is registered on the system using the registration form. This form collects the beekeeper’s basic information, contact information and locations as well as producing a unique identification code for each beekeeper.

Example of registration locations

Example of information gathered on traceability system

Once beekeepers are registered on the system, they are able to sell their honeycomb through our collection sites. At each site, a delivery of honeycomb is logged into a form which collects the following data:

• which beekeeper delivered the honeycomb
• the quality of that honeycomb and if any of it was unsatisfactory and needed to be rejected
• how much honeycomb they delivered
• the price they were given for the honeycomb
• an update on their beekeeping and apiary status
• the location of the sale

With this data we can not only keep track of the honey but also find out how the beekeepers are progressing and if there are any areas that might require a targeted intervention to assist their beekeeping.

Once the honey comb has been collected it needs to be processed into honey and wax. In many cases this is done by the buyers after they have purchased the honey. In Ghana we process the honeycomb ourselves at our Donkorkrom Honey and Beeswax Processing Centre. This processing is done in batches, and for each batch, a form is filled in. This form specifies which honeycomb from which beekeepers went into the batch and creates a unique batch number.

The batch number is printed onto every bottle of honey and consumers will soon be able to enter that batch number on the BfDG website and find out which areas their honey came from, what the main floral sources were at the time of harvest and hear some of the stories from the beekeepers who contributed to and benefit from their purchase.

Finally, when the honey is sold, a final form is completed to account for where each batch was sent. The data from all of these forms can then be sent along with the honey to the buyers demonstrating the provenance and quality of the honey along each step in the process. If any issues arise with the honey, the traceability system can be used to prove where the problem occurred and who might need additional training to prevent it occurring again.

What are the benefits of this system?

The traceability system provides the beekeepers with additional offerings they can give to buyers, encouraging more interest in their honey and better prices while also combatting any accusations of adulteration or finding sources of contamination.

You can support our work in traceability around the world by making either a one off or a regular donation – just click the button below:

Labeling buckets with unique ID codes in the Afram Plains, Ghana