Assessment of bee keeping practice in gurage and siltie zone, Ethiopia
Abstract
H. Abdo*, D. Muluye and S. Mehamed
The study was carried out in cheha woreda from Gurage zone, Misrak Azerenet woreda from Silte zone in Ethiopian. The objective of the study was to assessment of bee keeping practice. Multi-stage sampling technic were used first the zones and woreda was selected purposively based on honeybee production potentials, second two kebele from each woreda was selected using random sampling and finally honeybee producing farmers were selected simple randomly sampling and 118 sample size is determine by using yamen formula. Both primary and secondary sources were used for data collection by using semi-structured questionnaires, direct observation, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. SPSS software was used to analysis the data by using descriptive statistics. The study results indicate farmers in study area were engaged for beekeeping practice using either by traditional, transitional or by modern beehive. From the three kinds of beehive type 98.3% of the respondents owned traditional hives. And most respondents were the type of beehive for honey product only. Even most respondents practice traditional beehive 55.1% were main purpose of honey production for both home consumption and for sale and the average honey yield from local, transitional and modern beehive were 4.1 kg, 5.59 kg and 6.63 kg per year/hive respectively. But Poor extension services, Attack by recurrent drought, Pest, predators, and diseases attacking, Lack of improved processing materials, Deforestation of forest, Increase in the Chemical application on crops, Shortage of improved bee flora, Lack of enough modern beehive supply, Lack of credit, Honeybee migration to other area, Presence of different kinds of honeybee enemies like ants, spider hive beetles were found to be the main constraints of beekeeping in the study area. Even availability of many numbers of local bee hives, suitable agro-ecology for honey production, farmers’ willingness to improve beekeeping practices were the main opportunity to produce honeybee in the study area. So Concerning body must to create the opportunity of supplying enough modern beehive to the farmers, in order to increase honey production potentials, must to find the solution in best way of protecting ants other honeybee enemy and it needs to study a research on the effect of chemical application on honeybee production and give the solution.