You Can Make More Money From Beekeeping Than Crude Oil!

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Consider the fact that pure honey is sold at a minimum of N1,500(US$10) per litre and a barrel (which is over 100 litres) is N150,000 (US$1,000).
And then compare this with a barrel of crude oil (even at a high price of (US$100) which is only N15,000/barrel. Just 10% of what you get from honey. Meanwhile, income from other bee by-products like Beeswax, propolis, pollen, etc have not been added.

The profitability of beekeeping depends on honey yield, labour and other costs, and value or the selling price of honey and other bee products. These factors may influence the intensity of honey hunting, how many colonies a beekeeper will keep, the species of bee that may be used and the methods practised. The long term health of the environment may be enhanced by sympathetic exploitation of bees. All kinds of environmental benefits flow from beekeeping when it is carried out sustainably. Conversely, poor understanding of the issues of sustainable beekeeping may lead people to pursue methods of bee management and use of bee species that are damaging for their local environment or inappropriate for the culture within which they are working. The short term benefit for an individual beekeeper may be bought at the expense of the long term health of the honey bee population, the survival of indigenous and locally adapted bee populations, their vital pollination functions, and the long term sustainability of beekeeping in that area. Bees are so essential for human wellbeing that it is vital for beekeepers both to understand and to consider the wider effects resulting from their own beekeeping practice. Threats to bees come not just from inappropriate use of bees and the consequent reduction in bee vigour and health, but also from habitat destruction, pollution, intensification of agriculture and urbanisation.

The number of natural populations of bees in any area may be an indicator of the state of the natural resources within that environment. ‌Infact, the ease of hive colonisation is a useful measure of the health of the local environment.  The productivity of an area, measured by the presence of natural colonies and the average honey harvest that can be collected reflects the natural resources available for exploitation by the bees and the fitness of the bees to live and thrive in a given area. For instance, tropical races of Apis mellifera do best in tropical areas while temperate races do best in temperate areas.

In case, you also want to know: Only two types of bee groups are exploited by humans for direct gain. There are a number of species of stingless bees whose honey is often particularly valued for its special medicinal properties.  The other major group of exploited bees are the honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Seasonal Development Cycles

The honeybee is a social insect whose life is so closely linked with the flowering plants in its environment that it's whole seasonal cycle revolves around the flowering seasons of the plants it has co-evolved to pollinate. The bees' seasonal cycle will vary in different parts of the world depending on the climatic conditions that determine plant flowering periods. This means that the size of the colony will change throughout the year in a way that coincides with the quantities of nectar and pollen that the worker bees are able to collect. Bees are adapted to survive in times of nectar dearth by storing a surplus of honey but they will not want to share this resource with more than the minimum number of bees needed for the colony to survive until new flowers appear.

Beekeeping Enterprises and Income Generation
 
Beekeeping can be a lucrative income-generating activity which is an important reason for promoting it. Infact, the Ngerian Beekepers Network quotes large annual incomes and there are a number of things to take into account when looking at income generation from beekeeping which makes quantifying the profitability extremely difficult.
 
For instance:
?   The skill of the beekeeper is of major importance;
?   Some places are more suitable for beekeeping than others;
?   Honey harvests can vary from year to year;
?   Poor colonisation and absconding must be taken into account;
?   Some species and races of bees are more productive than others;
?   The scale of the activity is critical to the amount of money generated.
?   The costs that beekeepers will incur in establishing the activity
?   The value of any environmental benefits such as increased crop pollination of better forest production should also be taken into account.

Things You Must Note:

When starting any kind of business enterprise it is important to do some planning first. Ask lots of questions. For instance:

?   Are there resources for honey production and is access to these available?
?   Are the skills available? Is there local knowledge from other beekeepers or a training scheme nearby?
?   How much will equipment cost and how long will it last?
?   Can a start be made without borrowing money? Borrowing money for beekeeping is rarely economic and can leave some producers in greater poverty than they started.
?   What is the honey market like? Who is buying and at what price?
?   What scale of production is required to meet income aspirations or market conditions?
?   Can the honey all be sold locally or do wider markets need to be sought?
?   Is there transport for this? How much will it cost?
?   What kind of packaging is needed? Are local sales through traders or will it need a market stall? Write everything down into a business plan before deciding to go ahead.
?   Can an income be made from producing secondary hive products, beekeeping equipment, selling bees or making value added products such as cosmetics or candles.
One of the most frequently asked question is about sending honey for export into the European Union.

Well at the moment, I still practise Beekeeping in conjuction with my Internet Business because of its lucrative nature and the inability of local market to meet up with the International demand for Honey and its by-products. Do you know that in one of our annual beekeeping seminars supported by Raw Materials Research and Development Council in Abuja, it was unraveled that the potentials for bee income generation is more lucrative than crude oil? You might think it's a lie, but do you know that all other bee products are far more lucrative than the honey itself and are constantly needed internationally.

Now, let's re-compare monetary value of honey to crude oil!

Think about this again! pure honey is sold at a minimum of N1,500(US$10) per litre and a barrel (which is over 100 litres) is N150,000 (US$1,000).
And then compare this with a barrel of crude oil (even at a high price of (US$100) which is only N15,000/barrel. Just 10% of what you get from honey. Meanwhile, income from other bee by-products like Beeswax, propolis, pollen, etc have not been added.

Do you also know that the whole Nigerian Beekepers Network production of honey from all its members could not meet the supply of just one firm abroad that demanded constant supply of honey?

Now I wouldn't have loved to say this, but I must put it straight to you that should you want to start this business truly, I strongly advice that you get my Free Mini Bee-keeping Guide that exposes you to the nitty-gritty of beekeeping, where to get good physical bee-keeping trainings in Nigeria and how you can make it anywhere in Nigeria practising it, supplying International market, to mention but a few.

To get this guide, just send a mail to beekeeping@leakedhoneypot.com or send a text message or call me on 08064194340 and I'd give you information as to how to obtain the guide. Be rest assured, it's worth the while.

Stay Blessed.