Makueni County honey producers have a reason to smile as the County government has joined hands with various stakeholders to commercialize the venture as one of the key agricultural value chains in the county.Youth farmer groups, Governor Kivutha Kibwana, the Slovakian envoy to Kenya Frantisek Dlhopolcek, the Department of agriculture and African Bee Keepers Limited have inked a deal that will create a lot of income and jobs when fully implemented.
The Slovak envoy announced his country’s commitment to partner with the county government in supporting honey production through training of farmers on end-to-end quality honey production. The Ambassador said his country wishes to pilot commercial bee keeping in Makueni as an income generating venture, before partnering with other counties.
African Bee Keepers, one of the leading honey
producers in the country, will offer ready market for Makueni startup honey
producers before they are able to process, package and market for themselves. The
county government will offer technical assistance and
incentives to ensure a transition from traditional to modernized ways of bee
keeping with maximum output.
The Governor says that the sector is worth millions of shillings but has lagged behind for lack of support as a key agribusiness value chain.
