PRODUCTION PRACTICES, TRENDS, CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF BEEKEEPING IN ARBA MINCH ZURIA DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

The economic potential of beekeeping within rural communities is substantial. This research endeavors to explore the landscape of beekeeping practices, honey production trends and the associated challenges and opportunities within the Arba Minch Zuria District, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Selected purposively for its beekeeping potential, the district was stratified into three agroecological zones. Seven representative kebeles were proportionally chosen based on their agroecological diversity, and 156 beekeepers were systematically sampled. Utilizing formal surveys, a cross-sectional analysis employing one-way ANOVA and cross-tabulations was conducted. Results underscored mixed crop-livestock farming as the prevailing livelihood strategy, accompanied by traditional beekeeping being the most practiced method, with 96.8 % of the beekeepers employing traditional techniques. The average honeybee stocks per household were 4.8 ± 1.78 and 5.2 ± 6.98 colonies for traditional and modern beehives, respectively. Correspondingly, the average honey yield was 5.8 ± 0.09 kg and 20.1 ± 0.31 kg per year for traditional and modern beehives, respectively. Over the last five years (2014 − 2018), there was a decreasing trend of total colony number and honey yield. While beekeepers face challenges such as a shortage of bee forage, absconding and honeybee enemies, there are ample opportunities such as numerous honeybee colonies, emphasis from the government and tourist attraction sites, all of which provide a lucrative market opportunity to sell honey at a premium price. To ensure the beekeeping industry thrives in the area and contributes to the growth and development of rural livelihoods, it is crucial to address the challenges faced by beekeepers.