Beekeeping as a Rural Development Alternative in Turkish Northwest

Abstract

Turkey is one of the best areas for beekeeping because of its geography, climate, and the diversity of flora and fauna. Beekeeping is a traditional and socio-economic activity which is performed throughout Anatolia and has a place in our culture. Besides this, bee-keeping is very important to protect biodiversity and pass it onto the next generations, and also to provide and enhance food security. There are more than 100,000 families with 6.6 million colonies in Turkey. With all those, bee-keeping contributes to Turkish economy around US$ 5-6 billion, not only through bee products but also pollination. As a part of the national policy, ORKÖY (the office of forest-village relations) provides micro-credits to villagers, who live in and around forested areas. In this study, ORKOY branch office distributed 30 beehives to 80 villagers with beekeeping certificates (in 2016 and 2017) and let them put their hives in the "honey forest" which was established in the region by the Forest Directorate. Face-toface surveys, interviews and observations were conducted with 80 participants who benefited from beehive support and "honey forest." At the end of the study, socio-economic effects and welfare improvement of local people through beekeeping and producing of bee products are analyzed in the northwest of Turkey.

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“…From an income perspective, beekeeping as either a main or secondary income source is especially an opportunity for marginal rural areas [6]. In such places, beehive products, livestock, and pollination services have the potential to generate and diversify income quickly on farms with little land and/or limited capital [7,8]. The beehive product market is sizeable.…”

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“…Approximately 25% of the honey that produced is pine honey. In addition, many honey types such as chestnut honey, linden honey, acacia honey, rhododendron honey, thyme honey are also produced in forests (Altunel and Olmez, 2019).…”

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“…In the case of transition economies and developing countries, beekeeping becomes a key occupation for generating additional revenues and a better resilience for the rural inhabitants [6,7]. Beekeeping is an activity which requires little capital, has a low-cost maintenance and generates revenues in a relatively short period of time [8]. Along with the economic benefits, beekeeping provides social advantages as well, since it ensures food security [9], improves quality of life in rural space [8], produces social cohesion, supports women empowerment, Agriculture 2021, 11, 281 2 of 18 and reduces the migration of the rural population to urban areas [8][9][10].…”

“…Beekeeping is an activity which requires little capital, has a low-cost maintenance and generates revenues in a relatively short period of time [8]. Along with the economic benefits, beekeeping provides social advantages as well, since it ensures food security [9], improves quality of life in rural space [8], produces social cohesion, supports women empowerment, Agriculture 2021, 11, 281 2 of 18 and reduces the migration of the rural population to urban areas [8][9][10]. Not in the least, beekeeping is considerably beneficial for the environment by maintaining the ecological equilibrium and supporting biodiversity [11].…”