Bee-keeping critical to forest conservation

Neno District Council forestry assistant Hamilton Sachuluka says bee-keeping is one of the sustainable ways to conserve forests and boost the socio-economic status of communities in the district.

Speaking on Wednesday during a visit to Gwirizano Farmer Field School, which is involved in bee-keeping in Galeta Village Forest, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chekucheku, he said beekeeping complements their efforts to have blossoming forest cover in the area.

Sachuluka said: “People are afraid of our forests because of bees that sting them.

“This allows our trees to flourish, thereby supporting all efforts to conserve the environment that enhances our resilience to the effects of climate change.”

The initiative is being implemented under Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (Mwasip), jointly funded by the World Bank and Malawi Government.

Mwasip technical team member Osward Mulenga said they are committed to helping communities have economic opportunities while preserving the environment.

“We are promoting landscape restoration by engaging the farmers in land and watershed management activities,” he said.

Kirk Agribusiness and Trade Development Centre field manager Sosten Zulu, whose firm is one of the agribusiness enterprises, said they have equipped five farmer field schools in the district with new productive methods of bee-keeping.

“We off-take the honey from them with the K26 million grant we got, but we also monitor and provide the farmers with skills to produce quality honey,” he said. Gwirizano Farmer Field School chairperson Maureen Ngayiyaye said their lives have improved through environmental conversation