International Journal of Science and Advanced Technology (ISSN 2221-8386)
Volume 2 No 12 December 2012
http://www.ijsat.com
Beekeeping and Honey Production in Northwest Benin: A Case Study of the Communes of Natitingou and Tanguiéta ArmandA. Paraïso
Sosthène F. Tokoudagba
Faculté d’Agronomie Université de Parakou, BP: 123 Parakou, République du Bénin
Institut Universitaire de technologie Université de Parakou Parakou, République du Bénin
Email:
[email protected];
[email protected]
Gérald P. Olodo Faculté d’Agronomie Université de Parakou, BP: 123 Parakou, République du Bénin
Rosaine N. Yegbemey Laboratoire d’entomologie appliquée et dePesticides Parakou, République du Bénin
Ambaliou Sanni Département de Chimie Faculté des Sciences et Techniques Université d’Abomey-Calavi 01 BP: 526; Abomey-Calavi République du Bénin
Abstract—Honey production through beekeeping and/or
those of several crops such as rice, acha, sweet potatoes, etc.
hunting is an activity that is done by part of Benin
However,
population. In the Northwest of the country, although honey
performances of honey production in general, and beekeeping
production does not receive any particular attention from the
in particular in Benin, is still very low in comparison with
agricultural policy, the activity is practiced and contributes to
other countries. This finding calls out the need to undertake
the households’ income. This study carried out in Northwest
actions in the line of promoting modern honey production in
Benin aimed at analysing the beekeeping status and the honey
Benin for sustainable agriculture, and the preservation of
production in Northwest Benin. For the purpose, a survey
bee’s diversity.
was conducted among hundred and twenty (120) randomly
Keywords: Apiaries, conservation, Benin
selected farmers producing honey in the Communes of Tanguiéta and Natitingou. Data on socio-demographic
far
from
being
neglected,
beekeeping,
the
bee’s
economic
diversity,
I. INTRODUCTION The socioeconomic development of inter-tropical regions is closely linked to their capability to promote the agricultural sector because of it significant role in the economy of these regions [1]. In many developing countries including Benin, agriculture is the major activity of rural populations. Animal husbandry ranks second after plant productions and is of many types. Some of them are very popular while others, including bees, are nearly inexistent. In Benin, beekeeping is an activity which is not
characteristics, prices and quantities of inputs and outputs involved in honey production were collected from the sampled respondents. In addition to the descriptive statistics, mean comparison tests (F of Fisher) were used to compare the performances of the respondents with respect to the form of honey production (Beekeeping or hunting). The results showed that honey production performances are lower than
11
International Journal of Science and Advanced Technology (ISSN 2221-8386)
Volume 2 No 12 December 2012
http://www.ijsat.com given due importance and is not well considered by development projects. However, according to [2], beekeeping is very interesting at the agricultural, social, food, economic, industrial and environmental levels. Regarding these two last aspects, beekeeping secures some financial self-sufficiencybut also reduces health expenses of the household and is a strategy to diversify farmers’ revenues [3, 4]. Beekeeping, in addition to its many environmental benefits, beekeeping is estimated as an economically profitable activity [5, 6]. The economic importance of the bees as pollinators in world agriculture is established [7, 8, 4]. A study carried out in the Central African Republic has showed that specialization in beekeeping increases revenues by CFA 186.600 for small honey producers and by CFA 314.650 for big honey producers [9]. It is therefore a source of employment and additional revenues for farmers and for artisans who construct the material used (beehives, mating hives, protective clothes, hive smokers, etc.).
of August and September. Trees, shrub Savannah and clear forests make up the vegetation of the Commune.
In Benin, honey producers are mostly found in the Northwest regions. These producers practice either honey hunting or have small beekeeping units often limited to few hives that are generally traditional made. Moreover, the Northwest of the country is characterized by high level of poverty. In fact, according to [10], the Borgou, Alibori, Atacora and Donga departments are among the poorest regions in Benin with a Human Poverty Index (HPI) > 40%. In these regions, taking into account the profitability of honey production, developing this activity may contribute to achieving the objectives of poverty reduction throughout of agricultural productions and diversification, currently targeted.
The Commune of Tanguiéta is located 10° 37' 0 " Latitude North, and 1° 16' 0" Longitude East. Tanguiéta covers an area of 5.456 km² [12]. The commune of Tanguiéta is surrounded by the mountains of the chain of Atacora and limited in the north by Pendjari Park, in the south by the Communes of Toucountouna and Boukoumbe, in the west by the Communes of Matéri and Cobly and in the east by the Communes of Toucountouna, Kérou and Kouandé.
The Commune of Tanguiéta is located 10° 37' 0 " Latitude North, and 1° 16' 0" Longitude East. Tanguiéta covers an area of 5.456 km² [12]. The commune of Tanguiéta is surrounded by the mountains of the chain of Atacora and limited in the north by Pendjari Park, in the south by the Communes of Toucountouna and Boukoumbe, in the west by the Communes of Matéri and Cobly and in the east by the Communes of Toucountouna, Kérou and Kouandé. The climate of the Communes of Tanguiéta is SudanoSahelian, with a rainy season from the end of May to November and a dry season from November to May. It is characterised by a rainfall ranging between 800 and 1.100 mm with the highest during the months of August and September. The vegetation of the Commune of Tanguiéta includes forested and shrubby savannah.
The climate of the Communes of Tanguiéta is SudanoSahelian, with a rainy season from the end of May to November and a dry season from November to May. It is characterized by a rainfall ranging between 800 and 1.100 mm with the highest during the months of August and September. The vegetation of the Commune of Tanguiéta includes forested and shrubby savannah.
In this aspect, exploring the sectors or activities that were less considered by highlighting their possible contribution to the revenue could be a valuable asset to development . The objective of this paper was to analyze of honey production and to analyze the beekeeping sector as very important partof the agriculture and assessits economicperformances in Northwest Benin. Hence, this study was conducted.
DATA BASE The observation units were the honey operators of the Communes of Natitingou and Tanguiéta. An operator was considered to be a beekeeper, a honey hunter and those doing both activities at the time. In these two Communes, a total of one hundred and twenty operators were randomly selected and surveyed individually. An individual inquiry questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic characteristics of the producers and the quantities and prices of inputs and outputs related to honey production.The sample structure is presented in Table 1.
II. MATERIAL AND METHODS Study area The data used for analysis were collected from operators of honey, who are beekeepers, honey hunters and those doing both activities in the Communes of Natitingou and Tanguiéta. The city of Natitingou lies between 10° 18' 46 " Latitude North, and 1° 23' 19" Longitude East and covers an area of 3.045 km2 [11]. The Commune of Natitingou is characterized by the chain of Atacora from which it takes its hilly terrain, consisting mainly of plateaus and hills which the valleys are often in high slope.
Semi-structured interviews and "focus group discussions" were organized to understand the role of beekeeping in the localities. Finally, observations and triangulation of information were used to ensure the veracity of the collected information. Quantitative analysis of the data was conducted through the calculation of descriptive statistics (frequency, averages and standard deviations), comparison of averages and Chi-square tests (2). Statistical software SPSS Version 16 was used to this effect.
The climate is of the Sudano-Guinean type, qualified by the Atacorien relief with two distinct seasons: a dry one which covers the period from mid-October to mid-April and a rainy season that extends from mid-April to midOctober. It is characterized by a rainfall ranging between 1000 to 1400 mm with the highest recorded in the months
Methods In accounting, the economic profitability is where the 12
International Journal of Science and Advanced Technology (ISSN 2221-8386)
Volume 2 No 12 December 2012
http://www.ijsat.com result is related to all invested capitals. As to financial profitability, it only takes into account shareholders and relates the result to shareholders' equity [13]. The net revenue from the activity and the average productivity of the work were used as indicators of economic profitability, and the cost-benefit ratio asindicator of financial profitability.
unit (FCFA 1 for example). Let B be the entire benefits obtained after a total investment T and Rf the financial profitability indicator. According to [13], the formula is presented as follows: Rf = In agricultural economics, B was designated by the gross product obtained in value and CT by all the cost expressed in value, including family labor. Thus, if PBV was the gross product CT the total costs that did not include the value of the family labor and MOV the total value of the family labor used: Rf =
Revenue MN The net revenue is obtained by deducting from the gross product (PBV) the total costs (CT) that are the fixed costs (CF) + variable costs (CV) [14]. This revenue is expressed in CFA/ha by the following formula:
In economic profitability analysis, if B/CT > 1, then 1 franc invested generates more than CFA 1 as profit and the activity is said to be financially profitable. But, if B/CT < 1, then1 franc invested generates less than CFA 1 as profit, and the activity is then said not to befinancially profitable. Therefore the producer earns less than he has invested.
If the net revenue is positive, then it can be concluded that the gross product is able to cover total costs (variable + fixed) and that the economic activity is profitable. On the contrary, negative net revenue indicates that the gross product is not able to cover all total costs. In this case, the activity is not economically profitable. This situation happens generally when the total costs are too high and that the gross proceed is so low that it cannot cover them. In many situations, the negative net revenue is attributable to very high variable charges. Nevertheless, it is possible that very high fixed costs make the revenue negative in the case of significant investments [15, 16].
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents Table II presents the descriptive statistics of the various variables introduced in the regression models. The table revealed that honey production was an activity carried out only by men and they were all married. There was a relationship between the class of the honey producer and his marital status at the probability level of 1% (2= 18.056; ddl=2; p=0.000). In fact, beekeeping alone and beekeeping combined with honey hunting were activities mostly carried out by married men. Moreover, there was significant relationship at the probability level of 1% between the class of the producer and his status in the household (2= 25.493; ddl=2; p=0.000). Beekeeping alone and beekeeping combined with honey hunting is generally carried out by dependents living in the same household.
Net average labor productivity (PML) It is defined as the net margin per unit of family labor used in production [17]. It is expressed by the following formula:
Where MN was the net margin of the production activity (in CFA/ha) and MO the total family labor used (MD/ha), Man Day/hectare. Thus, the net average labor productivity is expressed in CFA/MD. Considering the specificities of the activity studied, the previous formula was generalized and applied using the net revenue (RN in CFA) and the total labor quantity (MOT in MD) used by each honeyproducer.
The results of the study showed that surveyed respondents belong to four ethic groups: Ditamari, Wama, Gourmantché and Boulba. The independence test (2of Pearson) revealed the existence of a relationship between the producer’s class and his ethnic group at the probability level of 1% (2= 22.474; ddl=6; p=0.001). Beekeeping was mostly practiced by the Ditamari and the Boulba, while honey hunting was mostly practiced by the Wama and the Ditamari. The combination of beekeeping and honey hunting was very frequent among the Ditamari and the Wama, while, honey hunting was not observed with the Gourmantché.
Therefore, the average labor productivity is always expressed in CFA/MD. In economic profitability analysis, PML is interpreted by comparing it with the price p of a man/day (MD) of paid labor in the study zone [17]. Thus, we have the following two (02) cases: (i) if PML >p, then the activity is economically profitable in comparison with the paid salary but, (ii) if PML
