Factors influencing beekeepers income, productivity and welfare in developing countries: a scoping review

Abstract

Beekeeping has been increasingly been promoted in developing countries to create income-generating opportunities for marginalised people without exacerbating environmental degradation. While many successful programs have been implemented, there have also been projects with high resource inputs that have resulted in few, if any, positive livelihood outcomes. This variation in success highlights a need to improve the knowledge, approaches and capacity of those engaged in beekeeping for development programs to enable their sustainable implementation and optimise the potential for success. This scoping review evaluates research conducted on beekeeping and beekeeping interventions in developing countries. Forty-eight studies from 19 low or middle-income countries involving 4755 participants were reviewed. On average, beekeepers owned 19 ± 18 colonies, and income from beekeeping accounted for 29% of annual cash earnings. Mean annual production per hive (Langstroth) was found to be 16.8 ± 9.3 kg, annual net cash income from beekeeping was $1133 ± $850 US and 79% of respondents conducted beekeeping as a supplementary form of income. Fifteen factors were reported to have a significant positive relationship with honey yields, however, factors influencing profitability and beekeeper’s welfare were limited. This scoping review is relevant to beekeeping communities, development professionals, academics, government and aid organisations, and provides policy options and recommendations for future apicultural development programs and research.