How To Start Honey Bee Farming In Nigeria: See Modern Guidelines
Honey bee farming in Nigeria is one of many lucrative agribusiness ventures enriching farmers and agribusiness investors in Nigeria today. Honey bee farming is so captivating and interesting for many reasons. One of such reasons is the fact that honey bees actually sting people to death. This can only happen if your venture into honey bee farming in Nigeria without adequate and proper knowledge of bees.
Read: Best rabbit breeds for commercial rabbit farming in Nigeria
Just like you know that there is no business venture without its own peculiar risks and ugly side. The stinging of the bees can be avoided while you are making lots of money from your honey bee farming.
You might be asking questions such as:
- Why should you venture into honey bee farming in Nigeria?
- How profitable is bee farming in Nigeria?
- What are the bee keeping equipment in Nigeria?
- What are the challenges of honey bee farming in Nigeria?
- Is there a honey bee farming school in Nigeria?
- What are the importances of honey bee farming in Nigeria?
- Who are your customers?
- Is there a honey bee farmers association to join in Nigeria?
The objective of this article is to provide answers to those your questions above. This article will also guide you on how best to set up your bee farm, as well as the necessary things that you need to have in place before starting honey bee farming business.
See: How to start pig farming business in Nigeria
Why you should start honey bee farming in Nigeria
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It is very profitable
To illustrate the profitability of honey bee farming in Nigeria, just assume that you invested about N10, 000 to start just 5 colonies. Let us also assume that each of these 5 bee colonies produced just 10 liters of honey upon harvest.
Investment per colony which is N10, 000 by 5 colonies = N50, 000
Upon harvest, each colony yields 10 liters
In the market, one liter sales for N 1, 500
10 liters of one colony is N 1, 500 by 10 = N 15, 000
Therefore, at N 15, 000 per colony multiplied by 5 colonies = N 75, 000
The gross profit is N 75, 000 – N 50, 000 = N 25, 000
That is 50% return on investment. You can see that the profitability of honey bee farming in Nigeria is never in doubt.
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Low startup capital
Unlike many agribusiness investments, honey bee farming in Nigeria requires little amount of capital. With less than N150, 000, you can start honey bee farming business in Nigeria. This is because; all the equipment you will need to start this business can be sourced locally.
Honey bee farming doesn’t need you to acquire a land as you can kick start your business on a completely wasteland. There is no feeding of the bees as they find nectar and pollen to feed on.
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There is a large market for honey bee farming business in Nigeria
The market to sell your bee farming products are always available at all times. Aside from the honey from the bees, there are other products from honey bee farming that will also fetch you ‘real money’.
The products you get from honey bee farming in Nigeria aside from the honey include:
- Wax (used for making candle, crayons, and furniture polish)
- Bee venom (used for the production of drugs)
- Pollen (it is used for the production of drugs and cosmetics)
- Royal jelly (it serves as food for the queen bee in the colony)
The cost of starting honey bee farming in Nigeria
Always have it in your mind that honey bee farming business requires low startup capital. You can divide honey bee farming cost into major and minor categories.
Also related: How to optimize your livestock fattening technique in Nigeria
The major costs that you should consider include:
- The constructed hive to house the bees and the honey produced
- Where you can process the honey after harvesting
- Your honey extractor and separator for commercial honey bee farmers only. You can make use of a sieve if you are venturing into honey bee farming for small scale production.
- Your tables and chairs
Minor costs that you should consider include:
- Get your protective gear
- Buy your smoker or make one locally
- Buy your hive tools
Requirements for starting your honey bee farming colony
When it comes to starting your own honey bee farming colony, there are three ways to start. There are three methods or ways to start your own bee colony, they include:
- You can obtain swarm
- Get a nucleus, or
- Acquire a colony from a hive
Among the three methods mentioned above for starting your honey bee colony, it is much easier to acquire a colony from a hive than the other two methods. It will cost you some money, but it will definitely be quick and much easier.
All you need to do is to go to beekeepers and pay for the bees that you need to set up you own bee colony.
Getting a nucleus involves that you start from the scratch. You have to acquire a queen bee, drone, and worker bees in your hive. Then you feed them with sugarcane and water on temporal basis. The next thing to do is to provide them with enough hives soaked in beeswax. Finally, you put the hive in a conducive environment so that bee swarms can enter the hive.
The seasonal cycle of bees in Nigeria
It is always very tricky for a beginner in honey farming business to understand and track the seasonal cycles of honey bees correctly. In temperate environments, the colony cycle of honey bees is always one every year.
In the tropical regions like Nigeria, the colony cycle of honey bees occurs more than once. Every colony cycle has three stages which include; the build-up, honey flow, and death.
Requirements for starting your honey bee farming business
Before you venture into honey farming business, there are certain things that you ought to have in place. You need to make sure that your constructed bee hives are ready and available for use. The constructed bee hive must be built in a way to allow for easy harvesting of honey.
Acquisition of your honey bees is the next point of call. You can achieve this by purchasing unprocessed honey which should be shared into the different constructed bee hives. After you have done this, you now chose a location that is far from residential areas and hang your constructed bee hive.
Once you have done this, it won’t be long and the bees will come knocking. The average time required to harvest your honey is 6 weeks, although that is dependent on the number of the bees in the hive.
One very good thing about honey bee farming business is that you don’t have much work to do. The success in honey be farming business is largely on how well you plan the business.
ATTENTION…
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