When Tunde Fabunmi left journalism for bee farming some decades ago, his colleagues, friends and relatives thought he was not serious. Today, he has moved notches higher than just harvesting honey and selling. He has gone into apitherapy, which borders on using honey to cure diseases. He spoke with Yemisi Olusina about the lucrative business of bee farming and how the Nigerian government can make a good industry out of bee keeping and honey production.
For many years, Tunde Fabunmi, a journalist, worked hard, as the people’s voice and an agent of correction in the society, which journalism stands for. Unfortunately, much as he was able to make a mark and accrued accolades from his superiors and colleagues, he found no fulfillment. It was against this backdrop that he finally closed the chapter on journalism in 1997.
Although many felt disappointed that he abandoned his esteemed career, his new chosen line was more shocking – bee farming.
“When I told people way back then, that my interest was to go into bee farming, some were not just disappointed, they were outrightly put off. ‘Why would you decide to do such a business?’, many of them queried me. As far as many were concerned, I was not serious and if I was not careful, I would soon realise my mistake when hunger had begun to deal with me,” he recalled.
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Contrary to what must have been the conclusion of many of those people then, however, the business has thenceforth, taken him to a higher level. He has not only become an employer of labour, but also been helping in the training of more farmers of his kind, an action that has been reducing the number of unemployed youths in the country.
Speaking on how to start bee keeping, Fabunmi, who had travelled to different countries to learn more about the business said, it is mandatory for a prospective bee farmer to understudy an expert for maximum productivity. In addition to this, the Chief Executive Officer of Bee Conservation Project, said starting the business required a little amount. “With as little as N20,000, depending on the number of colonies one desires, one can take off with the business. Besides, they don’t need anyone to look after them, as all they need is a place they can get nectar, pollen, water and a hive to live in. They feed on farm crops, such as cashew, pawpaw, coconut, oil palm, citrus, sunflower and they really don’t require that you own any land. You can do it on any land that is available. A hive is what any new farmer needs to get. He or she must position it against a fence or a tree with enough grasses, flowers and weeds to feed the bees,” he said.
Describing the market of honey, the farmer said it is enormous as long as the honey is good. This is because honey is more durable than any farm product. “There is no farm product that can last as long as honey. If you harvest yam and you do not sell it on time, it will spoil and you will lose your investment. But I can keep my honey for 10 years. I can also determine my own price. Go and ask fish farmers, they go out to look for buyers and when they don’t get good buyers, they may have to sell below the price they wanted or they will also lose money because the fish will rot. In other words, buyers determine their prices unlike our own case. We market even online. In a day, I may sell 100 litres of honey or more. There is no fear of it getting perished and it is very lucrative. Honestly, I am happy I took the step of going into this business,” boasted the farmer.
For many who still face the challenge of identifying pure honey, Fabunmi gave the following hints. First is to keep it in a freezer, the second is to use a match stick while the third is through the use of water. According to him, pure honey unlike water and other drinks would not congeal even after a period of time. When a matchstick is dipped into pure honey and struck, fire would still be ignited but fake honey, he said, would not bring out fire.
On the third test, he said, “The only thing fixed about honey is the name – honey. Every other thing about honey varies; its colour varies, so also are its thickness, taste and medicinal power. If you put a certain amount of honey into a cup of water, it would settle at the bottom of the cup and will stay there until it is strirred. But if it is not original, it will not settle underneath the water,” he pointed.
Emphasising that bee farming is a money-spinning business that can benefit the country and solve the bugging problem of unemployment among youths especially, the journalist-turned farmer advised Nigerian government at all levels to invest into the business.
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“The rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria is alarming and as far as I am concerned, there is no solution provided enough. Year in year out, the situation is getting worse. Students are leaving the universities but where are the industries? Government should look the way of this kind of farming and invest. If they do, they will be able to engage more youths and keep them gainfully employed. Government will also make more money than it is doing with petroleum.
“Nigeria is a blessed country, all we need to do is to tap into all the natural assets, resources that we have and make money from it. For a developing country like ours, courses in bee keeping should be included in school curricula in higher institutions. If you do it as a course, after graduation, you do not need to work under anybody, you could be an apitherapist; you could be a trainer. There are so many options,” he explained.
To crown this are different diseases that bee honey can cure, according to the farmer.
His words:“ Apart from the fact that it is a component of many traditional and orthodox medicines, honey adds good nutrition to human diet and keeps you mentally alert and physically strong. It fights diabetes, high blood pressure and other life-threatening diseases.”
