Status of Beekeeping in Ethiopia- A Review

Abstract

Beekeeping, also called apiculture, is management of honey bee colonies for pollination of crops and honey and other products [1]. It is an environmentally friendly and non-farm business activity undertaken by farmers and landless people. That means, it does not occupy cultivated land, requires less investment and provides quick economic benefits, besides, it being a nonpolluting intensive agricultural practice [2]. In Ethiopia, bee keeping practice had been an old age historical practice [3]. Beekeeping offers environmentally beneficial activity that can help the developing countries in alleviation of poverty and maintaining natural biodiversity [4]. It has also been contributing to rural households’ income and adding to national economy in Ethiopia [5]. It plays a great role directly by providing valuable output such as honey, beeswax, queen and bee colonies, and other products such as pollen, royal jelly, bee venom and propolis, and indirectly by providing nutritional, economic and ecological security [6]. Besides that, it also provides an employment opportunity and helps in financial security as a whole [7].