Did you read our last book titled Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans? We covered plenty of opportunities including some researches and interviews. One of the opportunities we covered in the agriculture chapter was beekeeping. Look for the book and read on page 35. Below we feature one of the viral posts in our forums concerning beekeeping;

Yesterday l met a 24 year old guy at WINPAT in Harare opposite Gain Cash and Carry. He is from Buhera and graduated from Harare Polytechnic with a diploma in boiler making.

He was driving a fancy Lexus vehicle and he was buying turkey feed whilst I was buying de-worming tablets for my goats. In Harare he stays in Tynwald South where he built a house. Now here is a shocker…the youngster is only 24!

The transformation

It dawned upon the youngster that he had no relatives in the capital to offer him accommodation or financial support. He was on his own in the capital! Some of his peers were job hunting and some having turned to vending on the streets of Harare. Some had trekked to the diaspora.

What next?                                                                                     

The only last thing that came to his mind mashoko ababa vake ekuti simba rehove ririmumvura ( the power of a fish is in the water) meaning our roots kumusha, if we think fast ndokunobva financial freedom!

Tried to do fish farming but faced water challenges due to low rainfalls. Tried a hand on cattle rearing but there were no sufficient pastures. End of the road? Not really…

Then he attended a 1 day workshop on beekeeping costing US$5.00 and was empowered for life.

 So he headed to his rural home,  kwakucheka miti and mapuranga kwakugadzira mikoko 50 and kwakuuya kuHarare kwakutenga maold pallets kwakunogadzira mikoko.

He now has 300 beehives and all he did was to buy wax or namo yekuisa mumikoko  and as we speak he literally has thousands! Hold on- thousands? Yes he has bees working for him lol

Harvesting

Harvesting takes place every 2,5 months or 4 times per year.

Each beehive gives him 40 litres of honey but he can only harvest half and leaving the remainder.

Each beehive therefore gives him 80 litres of honey.

Wholesale price of honey ranges from US$2-US$5.00.

Do the maths

His revenue is a minimum of US$160 per beehive to a maximum of US$400 per year.

Now do the rest of the maths on how much revenue he gets per annum!

Future Plans

Does it now maketh business sense why he managed to build a home in the capital at such a tender age? At what age did you build your first home?

The business does not require much labour unlike other business ventures and the youngster has plans to go fully commercial and increase the number of beehives to 1000. Who says rural areas are outposts of poverty?

We end by quoting a leading entrepreneur from Kadoma, Mr Low who says;

Financial freedom haineyi nekuita degree it’s just basic education and common sense!

The tobacco selling season is almost coming to an end in the next few weeks and most tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe are swearing never to go back into tobacco production. Production is expected to drop even further next year as reported by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) that seed sales have dropped by 55% as compared to the same time last year 2018. These sentiments have largely been driven by the unstable economy and the ever-changing monetary policies which caused significant losses for most small scale and even large-scale farmers. Off -late horticultural production or rather fresh vegetable production is being spoken about and seems to be on the rise in Zimbabwe. This could be a lucrative alternative.

According to the Ministry of Lands Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural resettlement, fresh vegetable production has grown sharply by 46% in the last 2 years to date. The area under vegetable production has also increased by a staggering 25%. Carrots production has increased by about 85% in 2019, followed closely by our all-time favourite funeral relish as my father used to call it, cabbage at 55%. These figures clearly show that there is a huge demand for fresh produce on the local market and international market and hence I strongly recommend that every farmer with the right capacity should think about growing fresh produce. According to the same report, pea production also increased significantly by 47%, just to shed more light, 98% of the peas produced in Zimbabwe are exported which translates to good profits. However, production for export requires a separate article due to the complexity of the accreditation required which we will talk about in detail in the next article.

You will be surprised at the demand that exists for fresh fruit and vegetables on the Zimbabwean market. You may be selling cabbages from your back yard small garden out of the boot of your car why not commercialise it. A lot of individuals are leasing out pieces of land in and around Harare why not take up the opportunity to expand your small enterprise before you know it, you will be supplying your produce to major retailers in Zimbabwe. There is an English adage which states that the earliest bird catches the worm, this is the right time to invest in vegetable production. Perhaps a few tips to help you plan

1. Have a market – Do not grow anything commercially with no market this may result in huge loses. Talk to your market (e, g supermarkets) ask what you can grow for them, If you can secure a contract the better.
2. Grow your crop out of season, this usually is possible if you have a controlled environment such as a green house. You will get good prices as you are able to sell when product is limited on the market.
3. Have adequate skill, yes, we all have at some point been able to manage a small vegetable garden at home successfully, however in commercial production a significant amount of skill and training is required. Employ someone who is or get the training yourself.
4. Reliability, like any business reputation is everything, one unhappy customer has the power to destroy your significantly damage your business. Supply the agreed quality and amounts at the promised time. Over the years I have seen a lot of good farmers loose lucrative contracts due to greediness and unreliability.

Come and Join us on the 3^rd of August 2019 for our ZBIN meet and greet party in Chitungwiza, Harare Zimbabwe as we discuss and share ideas on more business topics. 

• Emmanuel is a qualified Agronomist with more than a decade’s experience working in the agricultural industry and development sector. You can contact him on edndsep@gmail.com

Article by

Emmanuel D.N Dube

ZIBN Agronomy correspondent