"Mobilization and capacity-building for Small and Medium-sized enterprises
involved in the non-wood forest products value chains in Central Africa"
This policy brief presents a baseline study of the honey sector in the Bas Congo and Kinshasa provinces of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), carried out by Abdon Awono, Diomède Manirakiza and Henri Owona of CIFOR. The study
analyzes the production, consumption and marketing of honey in this region and identifies opportunities and constraints of the
sector for this product.
Policy Brief No. 5 (April 2010)
Recommendations for the honey value chain
in the DRC
1.
2.
3.
Build capacities of the main actors on the
management and running of an enterprise,
beekeeping techniques, domestication of bees and
melliferous tree species;
Put in place a consultation framework for various
actors that ensure good quality of local honey and
its promotion;
Put in place a honey label for the DRC for the
national, regional and international markets.
1. Introduction
Honey is a non-wood forest product with many
peculiarities that distinguish it from others. Though it is a
forest product, it is however not a direct derivative of a
tree; rather, it is a production by bees, which may take
place in the hollow of a tree (beehive), both in the forest
and in the village. Like many developing countries, the
DRC relies mainly on the exploitation of her natural
resources in general, and on the forest resources in
particular, to ensure the well-being of her citizens. Talking
about non-wood forest products, though they are still
exploited at the subsistence level, it is clear that the rural
people are very dependent on them for their survival.
Actually, these products play an important role in the
balancing of diets, the preservation of cultural identity,
health, and in income generating activities. Consequently,
honey is like a multipurpose product which practically
encompasses all the aspects mentioned above.
2. Production of honey
Honey is produced by bees from the nectar of flowers or
from secretions from some parts of plants or from the
pollen it gathers from the plant on which it perches. The
liquid is stored in the stomach of the foraging bee and is
mixed with saliva, containing an enzyme capable of
converting saccharose into simple sugar molecules,
fructose and glucose. Upon its return, the foraging bee
regurgitates its load and passes it to the worker bees,
which in turn, through repeated regurgitation from one bee
to the other, finalise the transformation. Afterwards, the
liquid obtained is deposited into the alveolus. At
this moment, the transformed sugar solution which
still contains about 50% of water undergoes further
concentration through evaporation. After some
days, a solution that contains only an average of
18% of water and about 80% of fructose and
glucose will be produced; this is already honey
produced. The honey is then stored in the
honeycomb.
Apiculture can be defined as the art of keeping
bees with the aim of producing honey and its
derivatives. The beehives are positioned using a
particular technique and the trapping is done by
spraying a hydromel into the beehive or by
capturing and placing in a new beehive, a queen,
which will be automatically followed by her fellow
creatures. The bees then continue the process. To
be a good bee farmer, one should master the
techniques that go along with beekeeping and
equally be very hygienic. The suitable instrument is
made up of a bee smoker and an appropriate dress
to protect oneself against bee stings.
Bee farming is an agricultural activity. It is practised
throughout the year. However, it is increasingly
being harvested in the dry season. In households, it
is mostly the men who practise bee farming. At all
stages, 59-82% of men are involved in the
production of honey. Women on their part play an
important role in securing the income (37%), the
planning of follow-up and after –harvest activities
(38%) and the transportation of beehives
(70%).The Bas Congo province and the Batéké
Plateau are the main bee farming areas of the
DRC. However, the organisational level of this
value chain is still low. This is because 56% of the
farmers interviewed are still operating as
individuals. In 2007, the annual production of honey
by 54 individual producers in the village under
survey was estimated at 5,135 litres with a 1% loss,
whereas 42 producers working as an association
produced a total of 8,273 litres. In addition,
apiculture in the area under review is still practised
at a subsistence level. This is because some bee
farmers still use wild honey from natural bee hives,
GCP/RAF/408/EC project « Mobilization and building of capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the non-wood forest products
sectors in Central Africa» financed by the European Union aims at increasing the earnings of small and medium-sized enterprises in the non-wood
forest products sectors and managing forest resources in a sustainable manner for present and future generations.
This briefing note was drafted by FAO and CIFOR in collaboration with the ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Water and Forests and
the ministry for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the DRC.
meanwhile about 404 beehives are owned by farmers
with an average of 7 hives per farmer. This figure is
discouraging. However, the dynamism of the farmers
makes this value chain promising. In the total
production of honey, 21.6% is from natural hives as
against 78% from artificial hives. One can therefore
conclude that honey is produced more by the
domestication of bees than by bee farming in the
forest.
In the DRC, the annual output is estimated at 10 litres
per artificial hive as against 8 litres per natural hive.
These figures are more or less lower than those of
the farmers in Madagascar who produce an annual
average of 15 litres per hive. A comparison with some
European countries portrays major discrepancies: 14
litres per hive in Switzerland as against 18 litres in
Bulgaria. This means that Congolese farmers have to
put in more efforts so as to maximize their output.
3. Consumption of honey
All the honey produced is used nutritionally (35%)
and in pharmacopoeia (65%).The most common
illnesses treated using honey are cough, burns, eye
disorders, and gastric ulcers. Honey is good for
diabetics. Honey is even taken for security reasons
(anti-poison). As a food item, it is mostly taken with
bread during breakfast or used as sugar in coffee, tea
or milk. The most used by-product of honey is wax,
which is further used in the production of candles.
There is also hydromel, an alcoholic drink produced
from honey, which is consumed in villages. Wax, the
waste material obtained after filtration is mostly used
as bait for bees. Drawing from the 263 consumers
interviewed in Kinshasa, monthly honey consumption
stands at 0.4 litres per person. In Kinshasa, honey is
sold in supermarkets, ordinary markets and by
pedlars who move from one neighbourhood to the
other.
While 48.8% of consumers buy their honey from
retailers, 17.4% buy theirs in supermarkets. Others
get theirs as gifts from friends or family members.
When used as a medication, consumers prefer pure
natural honey with all its dirt. According to specialists,
good quality honey when dropped on a white sheet of
paper will not penetrate nor stain it. Similarly, when
quality honey is dropped on the friction strip of a
match, it will not prevent the stick from flaming. In the
same manner, good honey does not easily mix with
water. It rather collects as a precipitate. Analyses
using a refractometre reveal that good quality honey
contains approximately 17% of water.
In the Kinshasa markets, the buying and selling price
is higher between January and April. This is during the
rainy season in supply zones. During the research, the
average selling price stood at FC 1,398 per litre. In
Kinshasa, the prize depends on the period, the level of
processing, the packaging and the type of retailer.
In 2007, the total net income made by three
wholesalers (FC3,675,516) and 30 shopkeepers
(FC13,027,680) in Kinshasa was estimated at FC
17,120,598.The average margin was obviously higher
for the wholesalers (FC1,225,172).
5. Constraints and opportunities of the honey
value chain
The constraints registered by the traders include
fluctuations in the supplies, lack of customers and long
distances to get supplies, availability of several types
of imported honey in the supermarkets of Kinshasa,
which is a threat to local honey, and which in addition,
is less competitive in terms of quality. We also noted
the weak investment capacity of the producers,
inappropriate harvesting techniques (traditional
harvesting accounts for 15% of cases of bushfire), the
absence of a data base of the honey value chain and
finally, the poor organization of this value chain.
Besides the constraints, it should be noted that the
existence of a new forestry code that addresses the
concerns of stakeholders, the demand for honey, the
existence of a ready market, the auxiliary structures,
and the development of small enterprises provide
great opportunities for the actors of this value chain.
The ongoing planting of melliferous trees is a major
advantage: according to a sample survey of 86
producers, 9,283 melliferous trees have been planted,
an average of 108 trees per producer.
6. Conclusion
Though the present level of income from honey is still
low, it contributes in one way or another to the wellbeing of the people. Furthermore, owing to the
opportunities offered by the domestication of bees and
the planting of melliferpus trees, the production of
honey meets environmental protection and biodiversity
conservation requirements. Bee farming can be
considered as an important pillar in the face of the
population explosion in Kinshasa, by offering
possibilities for the development of an industry to
produce apicultural material, apicultural products, and
by promoting initiatives to plant melliferous trees.
4. Stakeholders and the honey trade in the DRC
Actors in the honey value chain include
producers/bee farmers, wholesalers, firms, pedlars,
stable retailers, hotels, supermarkets and consumers.
The bee farmers of the DRC have two ways of selling
their products. The first is direct sales to the buyers of
Kinshasa. The second is to consumers in the villages
or to firms serving as intermediaries between the
producers and the buyers of Kinshasa. In such a
situation the firms transport the products to Kinshasa
where they will be sold in supermarkets or hotels. The
wholesalers in Kinshasa sell their products either to
the supermarkets or retailers or even directly to the
consumers.
Contact :
Ousseynou Ndoye
PO Box 281, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Tel: +237 22 20 24 72, +237 75 29 70 67; Fax : +237 22 20 48 11
Email : Ousseynou.Ndoye@fao.org
Useni Kembolo Marcel
PO Box 16096, Gombe, Kinshasa 1, DRC
Tel : +243 81 260 6089, Fax : +243 81 146 8353
Email : usenimarcel@yahoo.fr
Sophie Grouwels
FAO, Rome, Italy
Tel : +39 06 570 55299, Cell : +39 346 240 1970
Email : Sophie.Grouwels@fao.org
Internet : www.fao.org/forestry/site/43005/en