The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | For decades, apiarists in Acholi have harvested honey and beeswax, selling them in community markets, cooperatives and processors. Yet one of the most valuable by-products of beekeeping, bee venom, remains largely untapped.
Bee venom is the poison that makes bees’ stings painful. Bee venom is known to contain melittin and other biogenic amines that have been used to treat arthritis, other painful conditions and as a shot for bee sting allergy. It is also used in the manufacture of anti-inflammatory creams and beauty products.
According to the Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation (TUNADO), one gram of purified bee venom can fetch up to 300,000 Shillings (about USD 80) on the international market, significantly more than honey or wax.
Despite the rising global demand for bee venom in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, most beekeepers in Kitgum are unaware of its economic potential or lack the knowledge and technology to extract it.
Picho Charles, a beekeeper in Lamwo district, said he has been in the beekeeping business for years, but mainly knows only honey and wax.
“Bee venom is something we hear about in training, but none of us know how it works.”
However, Wycliffe Odong, an apiarist and honey processor in Kitgum district, said that although bee venom is the most expensive product by apiarists are yet to start benefiting from it because it requires one to have at least 100 beehives to harvest a reasonable quantity.
According to Odong, a farmer requires between 7 to 10 averagely colonised beehives to extract only one gram of bee venom.
According to Odong, one gram of bees in Uganda, the same quantity goes for between shillings 60,000 to shillings 80,000 as a wholesale price.
However, many buyers opt to go to farmers with many hives who can produce many grams of bee venom.
In Kitgum and many parts of the Acholi sub-region, many apiarists still use traditional log hives and smoke for harvesting, with limited access to modern beekeeping technologies. The lack of training in venom extraction is a significant barrier.
Odong said the key piece of equipment, a venom extractor, costs about UGX 3.5 million, including delivery.
While the price discourages many farmers, he argues it can pay for itself within a month, given the high market value of venom.
Barnabas Opiyo, the Kitgum district Entomology Officer, said venom processing is still viewed as a high-end activity, and many farmers are unable to buy the venom extractor, let alone have knowledge of the profitability of the bee product.
Opiyo revealed that the district is also financially incapable of buying the machine and training farmers on bee venom extraction.
Annually, Kitgum produces between 12,000 to 15,000 kilograms. However, Opiyo said at the moment, the department only enlightens farmers about good apiculture practices and the available bee products they can earn.
Uganda exports honey to neighbouring countries, but bee venom remains absent from export registers.
Some bee farmerssuggest that introducing bee venom harvesting in the sub-region and the country at large should start with pilot projects and farmer trainings led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), NGOs, or Gulu University.
“This could be a perfect opportunity for youth and women in agribusiness. We are already doing the hard work of keeping bees; now we just need support to go a step further,” said Samuel Opiro, a youth apiarist in Gulu.
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