Burkina Faso/Koudougou : The technical secretariat of beekeeping strengthens the capacities of 30 equipment manufacturers
On December 7 and 8, 2021, took place in Koudougou a training of equipment manufacturers on the technical characteristics of beekeeping equipment. Initiated by the technical secretariat of beekeeping with the support of PACAO-BF and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina, this workshop aims to increase beekeeping production.
From December 7 to 8, 2021, 30 equipment manufacturers including individual equipment manufacturers, members of groups and other members of the honey interprofession are equipped on the technical characteristics of beekeeping equipment to improve the quality of production equipment. This workshop is part of the capacity building through the Programme d'appui à la compétitivité de l'Afrique de lThis workshop is part of the capacity building through the West Africa Competitiveness Support Programme (PACAO-BF) implemented since 2020 and financed by the European Union and with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso.
During this training, the aim was to strengthen the capacities of equipment manufacturers on the technical specifications of beekeeping production equipment such as Kenyan hives, beehives and other accessories including smokers, supports, and full protective clothing. Also, participants were equipped with skills on the technical specifications of processing equipment such as extractors and maturers. According to the technical secretary of beekeeping, Issoufou Nana, these equipment manufacturers were also made aware of the maintenance of beekeeping equipment. "The problem in Burkina Faso is that each time we can acquire equipment, but if there is no maintenance, the equipment ceases to be used even before its amortization period," he said.
Produced in all regions of the country, honey appears as an economic and ecological alternative for a sustainable management of natural resources. Therefore, the actors of the sector must appropriate the appropriate equipment to be more efficient. According to the technical secretary of beekeeping, a technical and economic reference was developed, giving the good practices at the level of the material as well as the honey standard. According to him, a report on the variation of hives production according to regions. He therefore recommends a return to the dimensions (24 bars per hive) in order to increase the capacity of production, processing and marketing of honey and derivatives.
"First, we listened to them. Each one spoke about what he knows how to do. We note that the majority already had a notion in the manufacture of hives. It's in the other equipment like the smoker, the outfits and the gloves, that they don't know how to do yet. But we are going to work especially on the manufacture of beehives because it is what is much more in demand in the countryside," says Valentin Zoungrana, a technician at the NGO Wend Puiré, a trainer. He expects that at the end of this training, participants will be able to make hives because, for him, the objective is to allow the farmers to have easier access to beekeeping equipment at reduced cost.
This capacity building workshop for equipment manufacturers reinforces the PACAO-BF response chain to the many challenges facing ECOWAS countries: High cost of the main production factors such as energy, transport; unskilled labor; low access to bank financing; low processing capacity; low capacity for innovation and research.
Source: lefaso.net
