Farmer Voice: Helping Bees and Farmers Work Together to Produce Food Sustainably
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I’m allergic to bee stings. I discovered that the hard way when I had to rush to an emergency room as my whole body was swelling in reaction to a bee sting!
It may surprise you to know that despite my allergy, I raise bees on my farm in Rwanda, where they help my crops grow and provide an extra source of income.
Bees actually have a very nice nature, once you get to know them and their behavior. They’re usually happy to leave people alone. Yet they can be fierce defenders of their hives. Make a wrong move — do something that they perceive as threatening — and beware. This can be a hazard for cows and goats as much as it is for people.
I can’t really blame the bees, though. I would protect my home and family, too.
Farmers in Africa have lived with bees since the dawn of time. Those who learn how to handle them safely can enjoy amazing success with these insects and their colonies. While in some parts of the world, media stories highlight conflicts between human activity and wildlife, bees and people are increasingly thriving together. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of managed honeybee colonies worldwide has increased by more than 85% since 1961. In 2021, the FAO estimated that there were around 101.6 million bee colonies worldwide, which is a 47% increase from 1990.
These honeybees aren’t exactly wildlife, though. They are more like livestock, raised by farmers for honey and bee products as well as for commercial use as pollinators. Many crops have pollination as a yield-limiting factor, such as avocado in my region. Almond and fruit farmers depend on bee-facilitated pollination, and the agricultural demand for their services is behind much of the boom in the honeybee population. Experts believe that wild honeybees outnumber domesticated ones by several times, and they are crucial for the pollination of wildflowers and other plants.
On my farm, I grow avocados and bananas — and I depend on the help of my bees. It started as a hobby. When I was a boy, I kept one or two beehives on my grandma’s farm. That made me comfortable with caring for them, so it was an easy step to take it up professionally in 2017.
I began with 15 beehives. Today I have 56 beehives or colonies, kept in a mix of traditional hives plus the top-bar hives that are popular in Kenya and the Langstroth hives that Europeans and Americans prefer. (Watch me at work in this video.)
I have big plans for bees: As I increase my farm acreage, I’m going to raise more bees. In the next two years, I hope to reach 200 beehives and colonies. My main varieties are the Western African bee, which is popular and known for its wide range, and the East African high mountain bee, which is adapted to high-altitude foraging.
I need the bees mainly for the pollination of my avocado trees. Without beekeeping, avocado farmers like me must rely on feral insects. There are plenty of bugs out there, of course, and on small farms they often can get the job done. Yet their numbers and activity can be as unpredictable as the weather. Larger farms need more dependable sources of pollination.
My banana trees play a part, too. They don’t need bees for pollination, but bananas produce high quantities of nectar that feed the bees and keep them healthy. Therefore, we place our apiaries on the banana side of the farm, away from the crops that sometimes need a pesticide to protect them. We choose pesticides with the safety of the bees in mind and take the additional step to separate our bees for safeguarding.
The bees have a forage radius of 3 km, which means that even though they are small, they can fly surprisingly long distances. They travel back and forth from their hives near the bananas to the avocadoes where they pollinate. It’s like a person’s daily commute from home to work.
I’ve learned a lot about how to care for hives and create new ones. Success requires good knowledge of trapping swarms, locating good queens, grafting them and letting them have a private space to grow their colonies. Farmers must monitor seasons, weather information and availability of bee forage plants, as well as using bee-friendly application practices when pesticides are needed.
If everything goes well, a new hive can make honey after about eight months. That’s the other benefit of bees: They give us a sweet and delicious food to enjoy.
My honeybees are working for me and making it possible for me to grow the food that people want.
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Pacifique Nshimiyimana is a banana, avocado, tomato, onion and eggplant farmer and entrepreneur in Eastern Rwanda. Pacifique is a founding member of the Rwandan Youth in Agribusiness Forum and a member of the Global Farmer Network. www.globalfarmernetwork.org