Stung by losses, beekeepers turn to cooperatives for profits

Honey packaged by Elbee Apiculture Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd based in Migori County [Nanjinia Wamuswa, Standard]

Benson Kitumbo from the Ikutha area in Kitui County began his beekeeping venture in 1994 after facing challenges with crop farming due to prolonged droughts, which are common in the region.

He started with a few traditional hives crafted from tree trunks, which produced less than 10kg of honey. Over time, he transitioned to modern hives that produce more high-quality honey.

Today, Kitumbo manages tens of hives, producing 40 jerrycans of honey, weighing 20kg each.

With a kilo fetching Sh350, Kitumbo pockets Sh280,000 per honey harvesting season, which adds up to Sh560,000 a year. He says the arrival of Kamaki Farmers Cooperative marked the beginning of a turnaround in his fortunes.

“I make good money from beekeeping, thanks to the help of the cooperative, where l supply honey and receive payment at the end of the month,” he explains. Before joining the cooperative, Kitumbo sold his honey directly to customers or sometimes through brokers. However, he found out that the brokers exploited him and other farmers who lacked access to stable markets.

Kitumbo recalls occasions when the cooperative received grants and passed the benefits to farmers.

“I have received modern hives and harvesting equipment for free or sometimes at subsidised rates when it receives support from donors.”

Esther Mutunga, the manager at Kamaki Farmers Cooperative, says since its registration in 2013, the cooperative has become a cornerstone, empowering beekeepers and pooling resources to enhance market opportunities for farmers across Kitui County.

She remembers how brokers and middlemen exploited farmers, leaving them with very little money from their honey sales.

With strength in numbers, the cooperative has helped farmers sell their honey collectively at better prices.

“After establishing the cooperative, we put in place necessary structures and over the time, farmers realised that beekeeping is profitable. We’ve seen significant growth every year, with farmers transitioning from selling crude honey to more refined products,” Ms Mutunga explains. She spoke during the opening of the 8th Africa Agric Expo 2025 at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi recently, where she had come to showcase a variety of honey products, network, and seek more partners and markets.

The two-day conference, themed “Unleashing the Potential of African Agribusiness,” brought together leading agriculture enthusiasts, innovators, and stakeholders and provided a platform for networking, showcasing cutting-edge agricultural technologies, and driving transformative growth in Kenya and Africa’s Agricultural sector. 

Esther Mutunga, manager of Kamaki Farmers Cooperative, showcases honey products from farmers at the 8th Africa Agric Expo 2025 at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi [Nanjinia Wamuswa, Standard]

The Kitui County government supports farmers through the cooperative with machines to process honey.

They also receive capital from Dorcas AID International, which is used to purchase honey from farmers and acquire beekeeping equipment.

The assistance has been instrumental in helping the cooperative transition from using makeshift structures to modern facilities.

Apart from selling raw honey, Ms Mutunga says they’ve committed to tapping into the entire value chain, producing products like bee wax, propolis, bar soaps, royal jelly, bee pollen, venom and brood. She recounts a journey that started with 10 farmers in 2013 and has grown into a cooperative with 1,020 farmers currently. They train farmers to plant crops like sunflowers to support bees in honey production.

Farmers say the cooperative has been a game-changer, especially through the provision of ready markets for their honey. Currently, those who sell through brokers or middlemen earn between Sh200 and Sh250 per kilo, while the cooperative buys from farmers at Sh350 per kilo.

Agnes Mwikali almost abandoned beekeeping after incurring losses due to the effects of climate change.

During the prolonged drought, she would wait for the harvesting season only to find nothing in the hives.

“I became frustrated after waiting for a whole season, only to find empty hives. I even thought about doing something different,” says Agnes, who hails from Mwingi.

She adds that the worst part was when bees began migrating to other areas.

It’s the cooperative that came to her rescue, providing training on how to manage bees during droughts.

“In the training, experts explained that drought leads to dwindling of bee colonies due to starvation. Just like any other animal species, honey bees are adversely affected by the lack of food and water as well as high temperatures. This causes many colonies to die,” Agnes recalls.

Armed with fresh skills, she provided clean water and prepared sugar syrup for bees to feed on. This revolutionised her beekeeping, and soon, the bees started to produce honey.

From her 20 hives, Agnes harvests 160kg per season, which she supplies to the cooperative at Sh350 a kilo, earning her Sh56,000 per season, made up of five months.

Access to a ready market has motivated Agnes, who plans to expand her beekeeping enterprise.

She says: “I want to invest the money from next season in more hives, at least 35, and next season increase to 50.” She might also opt for a loan from the cooperative.

The cooperative manager, Ms Mutunga, explains they encourage farmers to invest in more hives because the more one has, the more money they produce.

Currently, the Kamaki branded honey is on the shelves of various supermarkets in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kitale, Nakuru and other places. They also distribute to stockists and are now eyeing export markets.

Elvas Masika, secretary of Elbee Apiculture Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd, which is based in Migori County, said the cooperative has played a pivotal role in unifying farmers to collectively improve their bargaining power and access to essential resources such as loans, inputs, and equipment at subsidised rates.

Elbee, which deals with the honey value chain, began at Maranatha Church in Suna West Sub-County in Migori County. During service, pastors would be served a special drink with honey to soothe their throats after a sermon.

“However, the honey would be adulterated. We decided to source pure honey directly from farmers for our clergy,” Masika recalls.

They began sourcing pure honey from farmers and used a small office in the church compound to package it.

Soon, church members began demanding pure honey. Within a month, he had sold 60kg, earning him Sh42,000.

As the demand for pure honey grew, Masika went sourced for more honey directly from farmers. At this point, buyers and farmers established a working group, which eventually became a Community Based Organisation (CBO).

In 2019, the group received an inclusion grant from the National Agriculture and Rural Inclusive Group Programme (NARIGP), which helped recruit and expand the group from 198 to 300 farmers, ultimately forming a cooperative.

To get quality honey, Elbee trained farmers in all aspects of honey production, processing and production. The money was used to purchase Langstroth hives for the group members.

NARIGP supported the cooperative with another grant of over Sh9 million, which it used to construct the honey processing factory building and buy equipment for weighing, testing, refining, settling, packaging and branding honey.

Joseph Chacha says Elbee provides a ready market at Sh 350 per kilo of honey. His beekeeping journey started with only two traditional beehives that gave him around 7kg of honey. However, finding a market was a big challenge.

“I hawked honey in bottles and tins, which was not easy. It was difficult to make money out of beekeeping,” he says.

After joining the Elbee cooperative in 2019, Chacha learnt good apiculture and maintenance practices.

He particularly appreciates the training in harvesting. “Initially, l would squeeze the honey out with my bare hands, which was not efficient,” he recalls.

Chacha, who previously exclusively cultivated tobacco for many years, has now settled into beekeeping.

“Bees are simple to keep. All that is required is flowers and other vegetation and water around,” he says.

With 19 hives, Chacha plans to increase to 40 in less than a year. Each of the 19 hives gives an average of 8kg at Sh350 a kilo. In a season, Chacha earns Sh53,000.