Story by: Elizabeth Frimpong
Mr. Patrick Newman, President of Ghana Bee Keepers Association on Tuesday March 15, 2016 revealed to farmers the various benefits derived from bee keeping industry (Apiculture). He said this on the Rite 90.1 FM/USAID funded radio program ‘’FEED THE FUTURE PLATFORM’’.
According to him, numerous benefits are derived from bee keeping apart from the honey that we are all aware of. He said bees play major role in pollination and we get Dumax, candle, cream, crayon and even chewing gum from bee wax.
He said, the bees protect their honey from bacteria and viral infections with their own preservatives called propolis. The propolis cures 55 diseases in humans and 1 gram of the propolis is $ 1 in the market. However, pollen from the bee keeping is equivalent to 35% of protein when added to our soups and stews for our daily meals.
He further explained that, the stings of the bees also cure rheumatism and other sickness in the bones of humans. He mentioned royal jelly as another product derived from bee keeping which helps the queens of the bees to stay for 6 and 7 years instead of 4 and 5 months before they die. The whites have been producing drug from the royal jelly which we call Royal Jelly Tablet and one tablet is sold at 100 dollars.
He however, cautioned the people in the Asuogyaman and Yilo Krobo Assemblies and the entire Ghanaians not to kill the bees. ‘’Don’t kill the bees’’ he pronounced. Mr. Newman however, urged bee keepers to come together and work as a team to promote the bee keeping industry in order to have easy access to loans and the support from the rural enterprises since there is no policy protecting the industry.
Mr. Newman again admonished the bee keepers and those interested in the business to register with the federation. He then encouraged Ghanaians to go into the bee keeping industry since there are lots of benefits from it. He said ‘’I am the only person having forest between Tema andAkuse road because of the bees in the forest, they serve as securities protecting the forest’’. He also entreated the public to report those who have been selling fake honeys in the markets.
Source: ritefmonline.org.
