Kabunduli Bee-keeping Cooperative says climate change has negatively affected honey production at Mzenga in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kabunduli in Nkhata Bay District.
The remarks were made on Friday during the grant signing ceremony of about K55 million which the United States African Development Fund (USADF) has given to the cooperative which comprises 61 bee-keeping farmers.
Chairperson for Kabunduli Cooperative, Elias Banda said in 2014, farmers produced 13,000 kilogrammes of honey, while in 2015 the produce decreased to 5,000 kilogrammes.
“Bees are attracted into our beehives by the flowers produced by the trees where we hang the hives. The trees grow well and produce more flowers when there is rainfall. However, beginning last year, we did not have the usual rains. It is always sunny during the time we expect the rains and the flowers do not sprout well,” Banda said.
He said the changes have been caused by careless cutting down of trees in the area especially by people who produce charcoal.
“People living around this area do not take part in charcoal burning because they all depend on bee farming for their survival which requires trees, so if they cut down trees then they are killing themselves,” he added.
On the grant, Banda said it will greatly assist the cooperative which lacked capacity building and the grant will improve the livelihood of people living around Mzenga area.
USADF Country Programme Coordinator, Linda Jere cautioned the farmers against misusing the funds which she said will lead to
termination of the grant before its expiry day in 2018.
She added that USADF through its partner, Tradeline Corporation Limited, will be monitoring how the cooperative operates using the grant money while at the same time offering technical advice on how best they can use the cash.
“At USADF, we are now working with 36 groups in the country, two are bee-keeping farmers including this cooperative. We provide grants of up to US$250 (about K175 million) for Organisational Assistance Grants (OAG) and US$100 for Enterprise Development Grants (EDG) directly to marginalised community groups and enterprises in Malawi,” Jere explained.
She added that grants help organisations create and sustain jobs, improve income levels, and address social development needs. USADF receives financial support from the United States and Malawi governments.
Through the grant, Kabunduli Cooperative will have new protective clothing, improving their unfinished factory building, acquire a certificate from Malawi Bureau of Standards and employ some workers to assist in the administration of the cooperative.
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