Promoting micro, small and medium enterprises in beekeeping in Zambias Central Province: Making a case for the adoption of business incubation strategy

Abstract

Beekeeping has been a thriving enterprise among farmers in selected parts of Zambia. However, despite its enormous potential for transforming rural communities and through income generation, the beekeeping sector has experienced stunted growth for many years (or has not experienced meaningful growth for many years). Therefore, this study investigates the nature of beekeeping in selected parts of Zambia's Central Province in order to identify the challenges being faced and the possibility of establishing a business incubation centre at Mulungushi University if the current supporting facilities are not optimal. The study reveals that there is a growing interest among the farmers to venture into beekeeping and the majority regard it as an alternative venture for income generation. Although, the production levels are not high as expected, there is great room for growth if the current setbacks are dealt with. The main challenges cited include inadequate financial support; lack of markets, charcoal burning, land conflicts, water challenges, knew knowledge and modern technology among others. The main recommendation of this study if for Mulungushi University to establish a business incubation centre to act as a conduit for support an exchange of knowledge with the beekeepers. The beekeepers also need sustained financial and material support from the government and cooperating partners. Lastly, there is need for the key stakeholders to converged and put their efforts together.Key words: Capacity building, beekeeping, Central Province, Zambia, business incubation. INTRODUCTIONThe beekeeping sector is made up of various players who include beekeepers, honey processing firms, individual sellers, bulk buyers and individual buyers. The beekeepers can be categorized into two categories wild *Corresponding author. E-mail: shamauswa@gmail.com. honey gatherers, and individual beekeepers (IUCN, 2015). Generally, the beekeeping industry in Zambia operates on a small-scale basis and thus most entities in this industry can be categorised as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). World over, MSMEs play a critical role in employment creation, poverty reduction and economic development. Beekeeping provides an array of opportunities for economic growth through alleviation of poverty, bringing in the much needed foreign currency in the country as well as creating a framework for forestry management (Nyatsande et al., 2014) and climate change adaptation. Beekeeping can also create vital linkages with other sectors of the economy, yet the reality on the ground is that little attention is being made to promote the viability of the sector. It can be noted that beekeeping in most parts of Zambia's Central province had remained at low level, in comparison to North-Western Province, with majority of farmers using traditional methods (Mickels-Kokwe, 2006). In general, beekeepers are lacking capacity to expand their activities. It is against this backdrop that this study sets out to investigate the factors inhibiting its growth and viabilit...

Financial support services for beekeepers: a case study of development interventions in Fiji's Northern Division

“…The most common answers were related to beekeeping inputs (n 5 8), finance (n 5 4), knowledge (n 5 4) and markets (n 5 2). Limited access to finance and/or inputs has been commonly reported in studies assessing the viability for beekeeping enterprises to improve livelihoods (Carroll and Kinsella, 2013; Financial support services for beekeepers Hamauswa et al, 2017;Minja and Nkumilwa, 2016;Wagner et al, 2019). An alternate explanation could be a reluctance to reinvest into these activities despite the potential to increase production, as hypothesised by one key informant; "people do not reinvest in their [beekeeping] business so it takes a downward trajectory, [the] business fails" (KI 22).…”

The Economic Value of the Ecosystem Services of Beekeeping in the Czech Republic

“…An increased density and diversity of pollinators has a direct impact on crop productivity and can help smallholder farmers increase their productivity by a global average of 24%. It has positive social impacts [13] and a significant impact on biodiversity [14][15][16].…”

“…Beekeeping is associated with higher willingness to support native pollinators [20]. Presently, research is being carried out on the resistance of bees to disease, fertilizers, and other adverse influences reducing bee populations, including economic impacts [16,21,22]. In 2016, the International Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned, in a global integrated assessment of systemic insecticides, about the decline of pollinators.…”