By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
THE Zambia Honey Council (ZHC) has called on Government to consider putting in place policies that will protect beekeepers in the country from being exploited.
ZHC chairperson, Samuel Banda said that there was need for the Government to protect the honey sector by ensuring that farmers are not exploited but benefit fully from donor funds.
Mr Banda noted that the sector had continued recording massive growth hence the need for the Government through respective ministries to protect it.
“The Government should cushion beekeepers from exploitation by buyers and other players in the market,” he said.
This is contained in a statement released in Lusaka at the weekend.
Mr Banda made this appeal in response to farmers who wanted to know why they did not fully benefit from the US$ 2.5 million (TIPEC-ZAS) project that was being implemented by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.
Mumbwa District Honey Association chairperson Patrick Simuchembu said the Government should take keen interest and carefully follow the implementation of such projects as they aim at improving the livelihoods of the rural communities.
“In Mumbwa we only benefited from a bulking centre and it is only being used by three groups, we do not understand why things are like this on the ground, and we do not know the criterion they used in choosing who is eligible to use this facility,” he said.
