Ethiopia: Beekeepers try different techniques to protect bees from pesticides

| March 7, 2022

Download this story

News Brief

Mr. Tiruneh is a farmer from Arsi Robe woreda, a small district not far from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The district is well-known for its green fields and good honey, and for being endowed with a variety of flowering plants where bees can collect nectar. But recently, honey production in the woreda has dwindled due to the widespread use of pesticides to protect crops from locusts. Mr. Tiruneh says there has been a continuous decline in honey production over the past few years. He explains: “I have learned the best time to spray the pesticides to prevent the bees from coming into contact with the sprayed plants. I do it after the bees are in the hive during the night. I also cover the beehives to keep the bees inside for a while.” Other methods to keep bees safe from birds and pesticides include uprooting weeds by hand and planting flowers close to beehives.

It’s getting dark and Abraham Tiruneh’s bees are buzzing loudly as they fly quickly towards their beehives, which are hanging from trees on his small piece of land.  

Although it’s nighttime, the 45-year-old bee farmer is busy covering the hives with a cloth to prevent them from contacting plants that were sprayed by pesticides after being attacked by locusts.  

Mr. Tiruneh explains: “It’s pesticides that are killing bees because in our area we don’t have a lot of bee diseases. Locusts have recently been attacking crops and plants and farmers are using the pesticides on their farmland, which is killing bees as well as locusts.”

Mr. Tiruneh is a farmer from Arsi Robe woreda, a small district not far from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The district is well-known for its green fields and good honey, and for being endowed with a variety of flowering plants where bees can collect nectar.  

But recently, honey production in the district has dwindled due to the widespread use of pesticides to protect crops from locusts. Mr. Tiruneh says there has been a continuous decline in his bees’ honey production over the past few years. 

He explains: “I used to rely on income from selling honey to support my family. But now, my yield is getting lower every year because pesticides are killing my bees. I cannot blame diseases because the prevalence of common bacterial, viral, and protozoal diseases is very low in my area.” 

In Arsi, bee farmers can sell a kilogram of honey at about 400 Ethiopian Birr (US$7.80). Mr. Tiruneh used to harvest up to 100 kilograms of honey per year but his production has dropped to just 25 kilograms.

Ayalew Legese is a beekeeping expert who works closely with beekeepers in Arsi Robe woreda. He says that honey production is declining because pesticides kill bees when they come in contact with sprayed crops and plants. 

Mr. Legese adds, “Many farmers used to yield up to 50 kilograms of honey per year in the past. But now their production has dropped to somewhere around 10 to 20 kilograms.”

He explains: “It’s not because of bee diseases … Apart from pesticides for controlling locusts, pesticides for killing insects and herbicides for killing weeds also kill bees when they land on a chemically-treated crop plant or weed.” 

Although it is difficult to keep bees away from sprayed plants, Mr. Legese says he helps farmers understand how they can reduce bee deaths by giving them options to keep the bees safe. 

Mr. Tiruneh is just one of many farmers who has benefitted by learning from Mr. Legese. 

He explains: “I have learned the best time to spray the pesticides to prevent the bees from coming into contact with sprayed plants. I do it after the bees are in the hive during the night. I also cover the beehives to keep the bees inside for a while.”

He says this helps to keep the bees safe from freshly applied pesticides.  

Mr. Legese says that other methods to keep bees safe from birds and pesticides include uprooting weeds by hand and planting flowers. He explains, “Farmers should plant flowers very close to the beehives in order to stop the bees from travelling to plants sprayed with chemicals. I [also] advise farmers to grow plants that do not need pesticides, like flax.”

Mr. Tiruneh is worried that if the decline in honey production continues, he will not be able to support his family. He says he will try his best to follow advice from bee experts like Mr. Legese.

He explains: “I am trying my best to keep my bees alive by implementing advice from the experts because honey is my main source of income. I used to be able to save some money in the past. This is not the case anymore. I have almost no savings since the drop in honey production.”

This resource was supported with the aid of a grant from The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) implementing the Green Innovation Centre project.

Photo: Johanny Sawadogo, Head of the Provincial Forest Service, is training beekeepers to maintain hives and collect honey, Yalka village, Burkina Faso. Credit: Ollivier Girard for CIFOR.