Farmers urged to look beyond honey and tap into bee venom

Farmers urged to look beyond honey and tap into bee venom

By Ibrahim Ruhweza

PICTURES BY MIRIAM

Farmers have been urged to look beyond honey and tap into the full economic potential of beekeeping, especially high-value products such as bee venom.

According to Stephen Kunihira, the director of Mr Bees Africa, many farmers limit themselves to honey, yet bees produce several other valuable products.

“Beekeeping is not only about honey. Bees are small factories. If farmers diversify into products such as venom, propolis, pollen, wax and royal jelly, their income can multiply,” he says.

Kunihira was speaking to hundreds of expo-goers in the bee training tent at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, where farmers were taught how to extract bee venom.

Experts note that one gramme of bee venom costs about sh100,000, compared to a kilogram of honey, which averages sh15,000. This significant price difference explains why venom is attracting attention from progressive farmers.

Moses Kuteesa of Bees Farmers Creep explains that bee venom is in high demand in medical research, apitherapy and cosmetic industries. However, he says extraction must be done carefully, ethically and with proper protective equipment.

He says venom is harvested without killing bees by using a bee venom collector, also known as a venom trap. The device consists of a glass plate fitted with thin wires connected to a low-voltage electric pulse system.

It is placed at the hive entrance or inside the hive while the hive remains closed. Mild electrical pulses stimulate bees to sting the glass surface. Since they are not stinging skin, their stingers do not detach and the bees survive.

The expert says the venom dries quickly on the glass into small crystalline deposits. After several minutes, depending on colony strength, the device is removed. The dried venom is then carefully scraped off using a sterile blade, collected in sterile containers and stored in airtight, dark glass vials in a cool, dry place.

Bee venom is highly sensitive to heat, moisture and contamination. Both experts caution that only trained professionals should extract venom. Protective clothing is mandatory, and emergency treatment for allergic reactions must be available.

Colonies should only be harvested during strong nectar-flow seasons and never when weak. Beyond venom and honey, bees also produce beeswax for candles and cosmetics, propolis for medicinal use, pollen supplements and royal jelly.

Kunihira notes: “When farmers understand the full value chain of bees, they realise the hive is more profitable than they imagined.”