Contribution of Beekeeping for Job Creation and Poverty Alleviation in Ethiopia

The production of foodstuffs, the care of animals, agricultural products, and the preservation of natural resources may all be combined with beekeeping, an environmentally friendly activity. It's easy to integrate with other everyday tasks because it isn't a labor-intensive activity. Given the current state of the economy, it is improbable that farmers did not set aside land for the cultivation of bee flora and/or beekeeping. Following technological intervention in the watershed, the main crops planted there were maize (24.6%), teff (21%), wheat (15.1%), potatoes (20%), and beekeeping (19.8%). These contributed significantly to the watershed's overall economic output. The survey results also showed some of the benefits that the beekeeping industry has to offer, including increased income, better access to nutritional values (honey consumption by family members directly leads to improved feeding habits), improved access to livestock development (buying cows and oxen), ability to pay off debt and save money, purchase of household goods, construction of houses in towns, and similar benefits. All of these show that beekeeping is helping farmers support their way of life. Therefore, the government should support policies that encourage self-employment opportunities in off-farm activities like beekeeping, value chain development, agricultural service provision, and agribusiness activities in order to increase beekeeping productivity and reduce poverty and create jobs. However, it is believed that one million farm households utilize traditional, intermediate, and contemporary hive production methods in their beekeeping businesses. In Ethiopia there are two harvesting seasons for beeswax and honey from October to November and from April to June based on the presence of flowering crops and the potential flowering ability of Eucalyptus tree, respectively. A significant amount of honey is sold in Ethiopia to generate revenue in domestic and export markets.