The Importance of Practical Training in Beekeeping

(UGANDA) Akumu Irene is a member of the Dikiriber Farmer Field School, formed in 2013 in Jupasonga village in rural Uganda. In 2014, Irene and a group of fellow students were given six beehives and told that it was important to keep bees. They did not, however, have a lot of practical training on beekeeping and so, says Akumu Irene, “my group was reluctant about the importance of keeping bees.

They did not, however, have a lot of practical training on beekeeping and so, says Akumu Irene, “my group was reluctant about the importance of keeping bees. We only knew that beehives need to be put under a shade of a tree! We never had hands-on experience about proper site selection, regular beehive inspections and record keeping.” They did not understand the importance of keeping the apiary site well-trimmed. “We did not clean the apiary site,” she confesses “and so there were many pests, rodents, beetles, lizards, and black ants that infested our beehives.”

“We noted change in our apiary unit! We regained interest in beekeeping and developed a positive attitude!” – Akumu

So in 2016, with the help of World Renew staff, as well as an apiarist and beehive artisan, they began receiving intensive training on the different aspects of beekeeping. “We were trained on the aspects that challenged us,” explains Akumu Irene, “such as proper site selection, pest and disease control, swarming, absconding (when a colony of bees leaves its hive), merging of weak bee colonies, regular beehive inspections, and proper record keeping.”

With such exhaustive training, says Akumu Irene proudly, “we noted a lot of change in our apiary unit! We regained interest in beekeeping and developed a positive attitude!” In January of this year, she harvested 12 kgs of unprocessed honey from 3 beehives, which yielded 6 kgs of processed honey, two of which she kept for herself to use at home. Akumu Irene says this result “motivated us to add more beehives to realize an increased honey harvest. With the money we have realized from the sale of our honey, our group is sourcing for an artisan to make more beehives.”