HONEY PRODCUTION, PROCESSING, PACKAGING & MARKETING
In Kenya the demand for honey is high such that the country is unable to satisfy the demand
and is forced to import from neighbouring Tanzania. The main honey producing areas of the
country are Baringo, West Pokot, Mwingi, Kitui, Tharaka, Western and Coastal Regions.
The average honey production in Kenya is 25,000 MTs/Annum from approximately 2 Million
hives according to 2014 statistics from the Directorate of Livestock Production and the
National Bee Keeping Institute.The majority of Kenyan beekeepers still use traditional
systems of beekeeping. These are simple fixed comb, mostly hollow log hives. This is in
spite of over 30 years of beekeeping extension carried out by Government and NonGovernmental Organisations (NGO’s) to promote improved hives – mostly the Kenya Top
Bar Hive.
In relation to bee product marketing, information collected indicates that the Kenyan honey
market is under developed due to low volumes and that volumes and quality have not been
reached for export. Kenya has been licensed to export honey to the European Union since
2003, however no honey has yet been exported because of a shortage of honey which is
currently insufficient to meet local demand.
The Opportunity
There are many suppliers in the market who sell adulterated honey. Even though, the
products may be labelled, the consumer lacks the ability to ascertain whether the honey is
pure or adulterated. There is a huge opportunity for KFS to produce pure organic honey for
the market at a competitive price. Opportunities exist for the development of Fair Trade and
Organic honey export markets due to Kenya’s largely pollution free environment and
disease-free bees. International demand for honey has increased but with it comes the need
to provide 100% pure product. This is to ensure that the honey comes primarily from natural
forests.
KFS with the support of GZDSP 11 will work with the CFAs in the production, processing and
marketing of honey. CFAs that are in the honey production have already been identified and
mapped. KFS will provide the CFAs with appropriate training and allow them to house the
beehives within the forests. The processing plant will be set up at the Ecosystem
Conservators office in Machakoes. The harvested honey will be delivered to the Machakoes
processing Centre where it will be processed, packaged and sold to the general public.
Honey will be sold in packages of 250g and 500g. This will enable KFS to diversify its income
and enhance its image. Profits from the sale of the honey will go towards forest
conservation.
Preparing to enter the apiary to harvest honey
Screened bottom board
Honey processing
WATER BOTTLING
Bottled drinking water industry is one of the fastest growing beverage segments in the
country. As more and more people become aware of the need of safe drinking water, the
demand will keep rising. Kenya has a large scope for packaged drinking water. Large brands
have established themselves successfully. With increased urbanization, compounded by
poor hygiene levels of the country’s tap water systems, residents have lost confidence in
water supplied by the water institutions and turned to bottled water. Due to this, water is
processed and bottled for consumption. This has resulted to high growth in demand for
bottled drinking water.
Bottled drinking water means water from any potable water source including public
drinking water supply system which is subjected to different treatments to meet the various
standards. Bottled water is used in offices, restaurants, railway stations, airports, learning
institutions and hospitals etc. Though a large of number companies have been established
for the production of bottled drinking water, there remains a never-growing need. It is for
this reason that KFS is embarking on water bottling business. KFS is blessed with numerous
sources of clean water in its forests. KFS through the support of GZDP 11 will build a water
bottling plant at Kiandogoro forest station in Nyeri, then distribute to customers country
wide. Initially, KFS will bottle water in 18.9L bottles targeting corporate customers especially
government institutions. It is estimated that KFS will save an estimated Ksh 800,000 P.A in
the headquarters alone by bottling its own water. Profits from the business will go towards
enhancing forest conservation and assisting the CFAs implement the PFMP.
Water Bottling plant
RISK MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN
Risk can be defined as the chance of loss or an unfavorable outcome associated with an action.
Uncertainty does not know what will happen in the future, the greater the uncertainty, the
greater the risk. For an individual, risk management involves optimizing expected returns
subject to the risks involved and risk tolerance. Risk management is the process of identifying,
assessing and controlling threats to an organization’s capital and earnings. These threats, or risk, could
stem from a wide variety of sources, including financial uncertainty, legal liabilities, strategic
management errors, accidents and natural disasters.
Risk Management process
Risk Management Process:
1. Establish the Context: The purpose of this stage of planning enables to understand the
environment in which the respective organization operates, that means the thoroughly
understand the external environment and the internal culture of the organization. You cannot
resolve a risk if you do not know that it is. At the initial stage it is necessary to establish the
context of risk. To establish the context there is a need to collect relevant data. There is a need
to map the scope of the risks and objectives of the organization.
2. Identification: After establishing the context, the next step in the process of managing risk is
to identify potential risks. Risks are about events that, when triggered, will cause problems. Risk
identification requires knowledge of the organization, the market in which it operates, the
legal, social, economic, political, and climatic environment in which it does its business, its
financial strengths and weaknesses, its helplessness to unplanned losses, the manufacturing
processes, and the management systems and business mechanism by which it operates. Any
failure at this stage to identify risk may cause a major loss for the organization. Risk
identification provides the foundation of risk management.
3. Assessment: Once risks have been identified, they must then be assessed as to their
potential severity of loss and to the probability of occurrence. These quantities can be either
simple to measure, in the case of the value of a lost building, or impossible to know for sure in
the case of the probability of an unlikely event occurring. Therefore, in the assessment process
it is critical to make the best educated guesses possible in order to properly prioritize the
implementation of the risk management plan. Risk assessment should produce such
information for the management of the organization that the primary risks are easy to
understand and that the risk management decisions may be prioritized.
4. Potential Risk Treatments: Once risks have been identified and assessed, all techniques to
manage the risk fall into one or more of these four major categories.
a) Risk Transfer: Risk transfer means that the expected party transfers whole or part of
the losses consequential to risk exposure to another party for a cost.
b) Risk Avoidance: Avoid the risk or the circumstances which may lead to losses in
another way, includes not performing an activity that could carry risk. Avoidance may
seem the answer to all risks but avoiding risks also means losing out on the potential
gain that accepting (retaining) the risk may have allowed. Not entering a business to
avoid the risk of loss also avoids the possibility of earning the profits.
c) Risk Retention: Risk retention implies that the losses arising due to a risk exposure
shall be retained or assumed by the party or the organization.
d) Risk Control: Risk can be controlled by avoidance or by controlling losses. Avoidance
implies that either a certain loss exposure is not acquired or an existing one is neglected.
Loss control can be exercised in two ways – (i) create the plan and (ii) Risk Control.
What is a business continuity plan (BCP)
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that consists of the critical information
an organization needs to continue operating during an unplanned event.
The BCP states the essential functions of the business, identifies which systems and
processes must be sustained, and details how to maintain them. It should consider any
possible business disruption.
A BCP covers risks including cyber attacks, pandemics, natural disasters and human
error. The array of possible risks makes it vital for an organization to have a business
continuity plan to preserve its health and reputation.
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Importance of business continuity planning
Business continuity planning is a proactive business process that lets a company
understand potential threats, vulnerabilities and weaknesses to its organization in times
of crisis. The creation of a business continuity program ensures company leaders
can react quickly and efficiently to business interruption.
A BCP enables a company to continue to serve customers during a crisis. These plans
decrease business downtime and outline the steps to be taken -- before, during and
after an emergency -- to maintain the company's financial viability.
Implementation OF Risk Management &BCP
A consultant was engaged to support the development of Risk Management Policy
Framework and Business Continuity Plan as an integral part of strategic and operational
activities. The two month engagement came up with the following outputs-:
a) Training of board members and critical staff on enterprise risk management and
business continuity plan
b) Development of institutional risk management policy Framework
c) Development of business continuity plan
d) Development of business continuity policy
KFS RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY FRAMEWORK & RISK REGISTERS
The policy framework document is designed to identity the principal risks to the achievement of
KFS objectives, evaluate the nature and extent of those risks and manage them effectively,
efficiently and economically within the risk appetite set by the board.
The policy framework details the roles and responsibilities of the board of Directors, the Audit
committee, Management team, Internal audit, Quality Assurance and risk management office
and the staff.
BUSINESS CONTINUTY PLAN&POLICY
The policy provides the approach to business continuity and disaster preparedness and
demonstrates the service commitment to ensuring continuity of critical operations in the event
of a disruption.
The plan provides a structured and timely approach to facilitate the resumption of mission
critical business operations (processes and systems) in the event of disruption. It identifies the
strategies, resources, key responsibilities, Processes and systems required by the service to
respond and recover from a business disruption. It provides the approach for building response
and resilience within mission business processes.
Circular economy
The Circular Economy aim is to radically limit the extraction of raw materials and the
production of waste. It does this by recovering and reusing as many of the products and
materials as possible. The Circular Economy is a “make/remake — use/reuse” economy.
KFS Implementation of Circular Economy
On the 5th of June 2019, The President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta announced a
ban on the use of single-use plastics in National Parks, beaches, forests and conservation areas,
which means visitors, will no longer be able to carry plastic water bottles, cups, disposable
plates, cutlery, or straws into protected areas. The ban became effective on 5 th June 2020. The
move follows Kenya’s ground-breaking step of a nationwide ban on single-use plastic bags in
2017. This policy has been disseminated to all stakeholders-KFS staff, Ecotourism investors and
visitors so that they comply with the same. Sign posts have been installed at Karura and
Arboretum forests that inform visitors of the ban of single use plastic bottles in the forests.
Anyone who walks in with a plastic bottle has it confiscated.
KFS has also partnered with NEMA in the segregation of waste in urban forests. KFS has
installed waste segregation bins in Arboretum through the support of Flip Flop. This has led to a
general reduction of waste output, identification of items that can be reused and set aside and
items that should be recycled.
KFS was exempted by the government from the ban on single use plastic bags. In this regard,
KFS procures high gauge plastic tubes for use in its seedling production. The advantage of this is
that it can be re-used several times thus saving the organisation money and reducing the
negative impacts of plastic paper disposal.
Challenges
One major challenge in implementing the circular economy is that most of the forests in Kenya
are vast. This has lead to undisciplined citizens disposing garbage in the forests. The Service has
worked to minimize this by intensifying patrols and working closely with the Community Forest
Associations to identify the culprits.