By Anangisye Mwateba – Manyoni, Singida
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has begun the implementation of the Beekeeping Sector Development Program for a Better Tanzania, an initiative aimed at boosting the sector’s contribution to household and national income, expanding employment opportunities, and strengthening environmental conservation.
Under the 10-year programme (2025–2035), beekeeping is expected to become one of the country’s leading sectors in foreign exchange earnings, job creation for youth and women, and overall economic growth.
Speaking during a training session for beekeeping groups in Manyoni District, Singida Region, the National Coordinator of the Programme, Ms. Imelda Emmanuel, said the initiative will be implemented in 52 districts across 26 regions in mainland Tanzania. For the current financial year, implementation has started in the Manyoni and Singida District Councils (Singida Region) and Sikonge, Kaliua, and Urambo District Councils (Tabora Region).
Ms. Imelda noted that upon full implementation, the programme is expected to significantly increase the production of honey and other bee products, expand the international honey market share from 5 percent to 30 percent by 2035, and create more employment opportunities through commercial beekeeping activities.
Despite the programme’s vast potential, she highlighted several challenges targeted for resolution. These include destruction of suitable beekeeping areas, continued use of traditional bark hives, conflicts between beekeeping and other human activities, limited financial resources, and low investment in the sector.
Other issues the programme seeks to address are the impacts of climate change, inadequate scientific research to support sectoral development, limited extension services, insufficient and unreliable data, as well as trade barriers affecting honey and other bee products.
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