From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
A prominent bee farmer in Anambra State, Mr. Emeka Okafor, has regretted that bee-keeping has remained largely unexploited in the country.
Okafor, chairman of Majesty Honey Farms, Adazi Ani, Anocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, said he has been thanking his stars ever since he took to the bee-keeping business, a branch of farming that he described as a money-spinner, if well harnessed.
Okafor, otherwise known as Emeka Honey, is the most popular bee farmer in Anambra State. He said, since 2012, he had been working hard to develop the sector because of his love for the business, even though he was oftentimes limited by financial considerations.
Okafor told Daily Sun that he produced pure, natural honey and beeswax, which had kept him gainfully employed over the years.
The bee-keeper said he had been able to invent an instrument to suppress the aggression of bees, which enabled him fo his job from start to finish without being stung by the bees. He noted that no bee would also be killed, even by accident.
“There is colony-by-colony production, and each beehive can produce not less than 25 litres in a given harvest from November to June, which is our peak period every year. In totality, my farm can produce about 37,500 litres of honey annually.
“Bees are sensitive animals, so you need not kill them before harvesting the honey. We have an instrument with which to harvest the honey without killing a single bee, unlike in traditional honey harvesting method where people use fire to kill the bees in order to get access to the honey,” he said.
To attract the bees to a colony in the first place, Okafor said the farmer must look for an environment with vegetation. Bees loved flowers, which they feed on for reproduction. Similarly, a farmer could bring in things like palm wine, cashew fruits, pineapple, mango, pawpaw and other fruits in that category, as well as honey, and deposit such at the provided bee colonies. These constitute food items for the bees, he said.
Okafor noted that another interesting thing about bees was that they were never in need of any help to feed and hardly needed anything synthetic in their food. He explained further that after initially being attracted to the colonies scattered over the farm, the bees would begin to look for food elsewhere and would return to their colonies after feeding outside on a daily basis.
For one to get close to the colonies when they are already hosted, Okafor said the farmer needs the right gear, including overalls, gloves and a mask, since bees are quite sensitive to colours. Red, for example, is an aggressive colour, according to Okafor, the bees regard it as confrontational.
“Bees are friendly but can become aggressive when they suspect that you are coming to attack them,” he said.
Okafor stressed that government has been losing millions of dollars by ignoring the industry, given the efficacy of pure natural honey in the medical field.
“Research has shown that honey is very effective for open-heart surgery wound dressing; it serves as a blood purifier, heals blood cancer and eye problems through consistent addition to meals, and has a whole lot of other medicinal values,” he said.
To encourage production of honey in commercial quantity, he suggested that government must develop an interest in it. He observed that young graduates could be trained to produce honey, adding that his company would handle such prohects.
“Now that we have realised the need to diversify the nation’s economy, government should show acute interest in this bee-keeping business. The way to go is to sponsor trainees in that area of farming and provide the necessary financial encouragement to those in this special field,” he said..