Studies on Factors Limiting Honey Production in Gechi District of Ilubabor Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia
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Date
2018-04-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study was conducted in Gechi district, Ilubabor zone, Oromia Regional State from September to July 2010E.C. The main objective of this study was to assess factors limiting honey production and give recommendations for mitigating the challenges in honey production in the study area. To address these objectives questionnaires and interviews were used to collect primary data. Different documents were reviewed for secondary data generation. Using a purposive sampling technique, six kebeles were selected purposely depending on variations in agro-ecology and honey production potential and Cross-sectional research design was used to describe the beekeepers‟ characteristics. Primary data were collected from 167 respondents that were randomly and proportionately selected from the six kebeles. The data were organized and analyzed using Microsoft Office excel 2010 software. The result of the study showed that honey production activity was mainly undertaken by younger people in the study area. Majority of the beekeepers about (53.9%) did not attended school and about (13.77%) of the respondents did not attend formal education in their life, but they took informal adult education and they know how to write at low level. From the result of this study, the main limiting factors that affect honey production mentioned by respondents were ants (40.72%), traditional technology (27.55%), lack of proper management for bees and hives (10.78%), herbicide/other insecticide (5.99%), deforestation (4.79%), decline of bee colonies (2.99%), shortage of bee food (2.99%), improper harvesting time (2.99%) and monkey (1.2%). The data also revealed that traditional hives, lack of training on honey production, improper placement of hives, lack of support for the beekeepers and plant species poisonous to bee were also limited honey production in the district. To minimize limiting factors, the beekeepers used different indigenous knowledge such as cleaning apiary site, placing the white ashes around hive stand, moving honeybee colonies from spraying area and hand weeding. The researcher recommended that the beekeepers were able to alleviate the limiting factors through training, by using modern hives, planting bee forage, avoiding the red flowers from the area, conservation of plants and by using the available resources effectively
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Factors Limiting, Honey Production, Gechi District, Oromia Regional State