Status of Honey Production in Hidabu Abote District of North Shoa Zone Oromia Regional State Ethiopia
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Date
2025
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Beekeeping is a management of honeybee colonies for the production of honey, beeswax, royal jelly, bee venom and other pro ucts. Honey is the sweets substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms or secretions on living plants; which the bees collect, transform and store in honey combs. The study was conducted in Hidabu Abote District, which is located in North Shoa Zone of Oromia Regional State to study on status of honey production. The main objective of this study was to assess the factors that affect honey production in the study area and to give recommendations for mitigating the challenges in honey production practices in the study area. To address these objective questionnaires and interview were used to collect primary data. We employed a descriptive study design technique and data were gathered from 191 people via questionnaires and interviews using random and a purposive sampling procedure. The data were organized and analyzed using statistical software for the social sciences (SPSS, version 20). The result of the study showed that 60% of beekeepers used purely traditional beehives, 1.9% used transitional beehives, 3.1% used modern beehives, 10% used traditional and transitional beehives, 20% used traditional and modern beehives, and 5% used all three types of beehives. The result also showed that honey production activity is mainly undertaken by younger people. Furthermore, about 51.9% of the beekeepers had not formal education, and about 16.3% took informal adult education. In 2017 E.C., the average honey yield from one traditional beehive was less than 10kg, from one transitional beehive 16-25kg, and from one modern beehive 20- 30kg. Majority of the beekeepers (60%) managed their colonies by visiting and inspection monthly, with 15% doing so per two weeks. The major pests or predators that affecting honey production in the study area were 29.4% ants, 18.1% spiders, 16.3% birds, 15.6% wax moth, 12.5% lizard, and 8.1% Honey badger, respectively ranked 1st to 6th. Furthermore, the widespread use of agrochemicals (94.4%), lack of training (93.1%), and lack of professional support (95%) in beekeeping and the beekeeping activities of the district were dominated by the traditional system, resulted in low honey production, all had an impact on honey production
practices in the study area.
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Keywords
Beekeeping, Honeybee, Honey Production