How to Start Beekeeping Farming Business in Nigeria

Last updated on August 12th, 2024 at 12:42 pm

Honey bees terrify the majority of humans, and it makes sense. Did you know that these small four-winged animals, which have tiny stingers that make us cry when they sting, are a gift from nature and create the tastiest delicious substance known as “honey”? Every year on May 20, World Bee Day is observed to increase public awareness of the importance of honey bees.

Beekeeping/Farming for Beginners

Here, we will learn crucial details regarding commercial beekeeping in Nigeria that will undoubtedly be helpful to a newcomer starting an apiary.

A beekeeper should begin his or her business early in the season, which means that the appropriate time to start honey bee farming is when honey bees will have access to all of the nectar from the blooms. You won’t receive any honey if you start it too early when the bees can’t find blossoms. Therefore, starting beekeeping early in the season is a good idea. Although apiculture can begin at any time of year, honey bees like warm climates. Thus, spring is often seen as the ideal time to start as plant flowering also starts during this time.

To start an apiary, a beekeeper needs beekeeping supplies and honeybees. Purchase quality honey bees, then establish a Nucleus colony. You should start off with the fewest number of colonies possible; two honey bee colonies should be adequate. You can start a business maintaining bees once you’ve gained some skill.

Every seven to ten days, the beekeeper should inspect the hives. Keep things as simple as you can at first and avoid complexity.

Keep an eye on the outcome and don’t anticipate a large honey output in the first year. Continue to practice because you have already learned useful knowledge from your first try and can use it on your second. Don’t worry; the following time, you will undoubtedly achieve greater results.

You’ll find a full explanation of all you need to know about beekeeping in this ultimate guide to starting beekeeping or bee farming in Nigeria below.

Understanding Honey Bees

Honeybees are social insects that reside in colonies made up of three different species of adult bees called hives. Thousands of worker bees, a single queen, and hundreds of drones typically make up a colony.

Although female, worker bees do not reproduce. They are in charge of all other tasks, including caring for the queen and her eggs, gathering nectar, making comb, watching over the hive and honey, maintaining cleanliness, and making honey.

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The sole sexually mature female in the colony, the queen bee’s main job is to lay drones (unfertilized eggs) and workers (fertilized eggs) for the colony.

The colony’s male bees are known as drones. Their primary purpose is to successfully reproduce and then quickly pass away after fertilizing the virgin queen.

All three species of bees are crucial for the survival of a colony.

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Where to get Honey Bees for Beekeeping

Without bees, no one can keep bees! So, the question of how to build a colony of these bees for commercial beekeeping emerges.

Buying bees is the easiest and safest way to start an apiary for a novice or new beekeeper. Here are some easy methods for obtaining honey bees:

1. Buying Package Bees

One must get in touch with a neighbourhood beekeeping association or a local beekeeper to organize a shipment of honey bees. A queen, numerous worker bees, and a feeder filled with sugar syrup will all be included in the delivery. You should receive instructions from the honey bee supplier on how to set up the package honey bees in their new home and integrate the queen bee with the workers.

2. Buying Nucleus Hive

Another option is a nucleus hive. Smaller colonies were known as nucleus colonies, or nucs, which are created from larger honeybee colonies. Its typical size is a 5-frame nuc, making it almost half the size of the bigger colony. Finding a local beekeeper that can sell his nucleus (nuc) colony of bees is the greatest solution for a beginner. A nuc typically has four to five frames of combs with bees, young bees, and an active queen. Only the frames and bees from the nuc box need to be moved into your personal hive.

3. Catching Wild Bees from Tree branches

Cutting the branch, shaking it gently within a container, and then removing the bees from the beehives on the tree branches is another method for collecting wild bees. However, it is extremely dangerous for beginners and can only be done with the help of an expert or by the expert themselves. However, free bees are not always beneficial. They could be contaminated with diseases or carry genetic disorders, and it would be challenging to spot the queen bee amid the mass. Therefore, for better results, it is preferable to get healthy honey bees free of disease.

Beekeeping or Bee Farming Equipment

Hives

The man-made hive is what beekeepers use to house their honey bees. However, it can also be constructed of plastic, polystyrene, or any other material. It is typically made of wood. The dimensions of a deep hive body should be 19 7/8″ long, 16 1/4″ wide, and 9 5/8″ tall. Upon being filled with bees, honey, and pollen, a deep hive body becomes heavy. Therefore, the majority of beekeepers utilize medium-sized supers for hive bodies.

Frames

Rectangle-shaped frames dangle inside a system of filing that resembles a hive. Within these frames, the honey bees will build their comb. In this location, they will produce honey, raise their young, and continuously prepare for the upcoming winter.

Protective clothing

Beeveil

The most crucial piece of gear for beekeepers is a bee veil, which he wears over his head to shield his face and neck from bee stings when collecting honey or checking the hive. A beekeeper should always protect his face and neck from stings by donning a bee veil. There are three different sorts of basic veils on the market. The first type of veil is one that can be worn over a hat; the second type is one that is completely hatless, and the third type is a veil that is a component of a honey bee outfit.

Bee Suit

How to Start Beekeeping Farming Business in Nigeria

For beekeepers, a wide selection of bee costumes are offered on the market at a variety of pricing points. When working with honey bees, wearing white or tan attire is best. While other hues are also commendable, honey bees react negatively to dark hues, puffy textures, and clothing made of animal fibre.

Gloves

Another necessary and reasonably priced tool for beekeeping is a pair of gloves. Your hands are shielded from bee stings by it. One cannot even consider touching the hive without gloves. Therefore, when buying gloves, be sure they are constructed of durable material.

Shoes

Beekeeping also involves the use of shoes. Before digging into the hive, you must thoroughly cover yourself from head to toe. Therefore, the beekeeper needs to wear boots that fit into the leg, are simple to tuck into the bee suit, are made of hard material, and have sturdy bottoms.

Bee Smoker

A beekeeper’s toolkit is incomplete without a bee smoker. Beekeepers would receive a lot more stings during hive inspections without the smoker. When the beekeeper needs to work in the hive, these plainly constructed smokers are employed to calm the bees. Honey bees believe their hive is on fire due to the smoker’s smoke. The typical response of the honey bee is to prepare for a potential migration. They begin eating honey to stock up on food in case their break enterprise lasts a long time. The honey bees become extremely lethargic due to the heavy honey consumption, which makes them tense.

Hive tool

In order to maintain and research apiaries, hive tools are also a crucial, reasonably priced, and multifunctional instrument. It comes in a variety of forms and looks. It ranks behind the beekeeping veil and bee smoker as the third most essential tool for beekeepers.

Queen Catcher

A queen catcher is useful and practical equipment used to temporarily isolate the queen from the hive of bees.

Feeders

A feeder is a container or piece of equipment that beekeepers use to feed pollen, honey, or replacements like a solution of sugar and water to a colony of honey bees. in some of the seasons when things are either waiting to bloom or have ceased budding. Your honey bees will need your help at this point in increasing their food supply.

Bee Brush

To extract the bees from the honey frames, bee brushes are utilized. After removing the frame, shake it to loosen the majority of the bees, and then carefully brush the remaining honey bees from the frame using the bee brush.

All of the aforementioned things are easily accessible to everyone in their local market or online. On its website, Amazon. in sells all beekeeping products; for price information, go to:

Honey Beekeeping Training Centres in Nigeria

S/No	Training Name	Modules	Cost	Duration
1.	Basic Beekeeping (Honey production)	1. Site Selection2. Hive Installation3. Baiting4. Apiary Management5. Honey Harvesting6. Honey Processing	N30,000.00	3 days
2.	Basic Beekeeping PLUS	1. Basic Beekeeping above2. Beehive Construction3. Other Bees Products Harvesting4. Other Bees Products Harvesting Processing	N50,000.00	4 days
3.	Advanced Beekeeping	1. Basic Beekeeping2. Basic Beekeeping PLUS3. Colony Multiplication or Splitting4. Queen Rearing	N80,000.00	7 days

For more information click here

2. Aziza Bee Keeping Training Center

Mobile: +234 8033 185 898

Email: contact@aziza.com.ng

Website: https://www.aziza.com.ng/beekeeping-farm-training-nigeria/

Address: 1A Elelenwo Road Port Harcourt, Nigeria

They have locations across Nigeria: Port Harcourt, Abuja, Lagos, and Owerri Nigeria

Products Made from Honey Bees & Their Average Market Prices

The majority of us might not even be aware that honey bees create other things besides honey. Farmers also receive other products from honey bees, such as honey wax, royal jelly, propolis, bee venom, and pollen. All of these goods are incredibly beneficial to people and cost a lot of money. Let’s quickly examine these goods and their market value;

Honey

The most reputable honey brand in Nigeria sells honey for between 3,000 and 10,000 for a 50cl bottle. Only a small percentage of organic honey is cheap, but is still reasonably within affordability.

BeeVenom

Has a significant medical value despite being a natural product in the marketplaces. Bee venom can cost anything from $30.00 US (and occasionally much less) to $300.00 US per gram. The price of bee venom can vary, though, if it is of excellent quality; it is determined by the manufacturer’s costs, the cost of manufacturing, the cost of the analysis, the packaging, the dealer’s commission, and other factors.

Bee Wax

Real organic wax made by honey bees is called beeswax and can cost 1000 per 100g. Bee wax can be eaten. The production of candles, shoe polish, cosmetics, crayons, metal casting, vehicle and floor polish, varnish, gum, carbon paper, electrical appliances, the fabric industry, food processing, and packaging all use it as a lubricant and waterproofing ingredient.

Royal Jelly

Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and dietary supplements all include royal jelly. The Royal jelly is a nutritious food capsule produced by bees exclusively for the queen bee, It consists of a mixture of complex protein, sugar, fats, water and fatty acid, it fights against skin infections, has microbial properties, helps in wound healing and helps the skin to look young.

You can find Royal Jelly on Jiji.ng for around 20,000 or less.

Propolis

Another important honeybee product is propolis. Propolis is less expensive compared to Royal Jelly. You can get Bee Propolis for as low as 5,000. It is used in both human and veterinary medicine.

Pollen

The average cost of bee pollen in the Nigerian market is around 10,000 per kg, depending on the grade. One colony of bees can yield about 25 g of pollen each day to a beekeeper.

While honey is undoubtedly the main output of the honey bee, the beekeeper also receives these other products, which boosts their income.

Loans for Beekeepers in Nigeria

1. Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme

The Scheme is a special credit intervention fund created by the Federal Government of Nigeria to fast-track the development of the agricultural sector economy by providing credit facilities to commercial agricultural enterprises at a single-digit interest rate.

2. Bank of Agriculture

The BOA (Bank of Agriculture) is a development finance institution focused on providing loan credit facilities in agriculture. The Bank is wholly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The bank is required to provide credit to support all activities in the Agricultural Value Chain in Nigeria. Although it also has a secondary mandate to provide microfinance services.

Marketing of Honey

The demand for honey in Nigeria is growing as consumers choose natural sweeteners over artificial ones, awareness of the benefits of honey is growing, and more varieties of flavoured honey are becoming available. One of the major nations that exports honey is Nigeria. The USA, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bangladesh, Canada, and others were popular destinations.

Many beekeepers in rural areas sell their honey in whatever containers are available in towns and villages. This might be in drinking bottles in less wealthy areas. It is important for honey packaging to be transparent so that customers can view the product.

A product’s ability to sell depends on how it appears, how it is packaged, and what is said on the label. This is typically all the information a customer needs to decide whether to buy the product or not. Labelling that is appealing, illuminating, and efficient is essential for drawing customers.

Flavours of Honey

Multiflora honey is the most well-known variety of honey in terms of flavour. Eucalyptus honey, ajwain honey, sage honey, litchi honey, jamun honey, and many more are examples of other important flavour types.

When they are in bloom, which is between the months of March and May, liches are a great source. Because of its superior flavour and appearance.

Health Benefits of Honey

The medical advantages of honey incorporate the following benefits, taken from both conventional and cutting-edge therapeutic professionals.

Sweetener

In many foods and beverages, honey can be used in place of sugar. Honey can be used as a sweetener that is better for your overall health than regular white sugar because it includes about 69 per cent glucose and fructose. Even though honey has more calories than sugar, it aids in the digestion of body fat by being ingested with warm water.

Improves Athletic Performance

Maintaining blood sugar levels, promoting muscle recovery, and replenishing muscle glycogen after exercise are all made possible with honey. It controls the body’s insulin production and energy usage.

Boosts Memory

According to Indian Ayurveda, the sweet nectar’s abundance of antioxidants may aid in preventing cellular loss and harm to brain tissue.

All-Natural Energy Drink

With only 17 grams of carbs per tablespoon, honey is a fantastic natural energy source. Fructose and glucose, which are two types of natural, unprocessed sugar, can quickly increase energy levels since they directly enter the bloodstream. Particularly during longer endurance exercises, the increase in blood sugar serves as a quick supply of energy for your effort.

Sleep Aid

Honey is a natural remedy for insomnia. Honey, like sugar, can raise insulin levels and release serotonin, a neurotransmitter that elevates mood and promotes happiness. Additionally, honey contains a number of amino acids, including tryptophan, which is sometimes connected with turkey. Honey’s tryptophan enters the brain where it is transformed into the sleep-inducing neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin as a result of insulin’s constant rise. The sleep and wake cycles are regulated by this hormone.

Conclusion

In addition to making honey, honey bees fertilize crops to increase production and improve product quality. The proper pollination of flowers also helps to safeguard the crops from pests, according to a study, which indicated that agricultural yields increased by a considerable median of approximately 24 per cent if pollination was well-managed.

Therefore, beekeeping is the best agricultural business right now, especially in rural areas where it can serve as a secondary source of additional income. Beekeeping is not limited to producing honey; it can also provide products that can help farmers increase their income, including royal jelly, bee wax, pollen, propolis, and bee venom.

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