Policy Brief No. 09 of 2023-2024 on Enhancing Production and Market Access for Honey Producers in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya

Abstract

Honey production in Kenya holds a great promise of improving the livelihood of honey producers. It has a huge potential specifically in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, characterized by dry weather conducive for apiculture. Arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya also have rich flora and fauna such as Acacia trees, which provide quality nectar for honey production. Despite holding this potential, honey production in Kenya has consistently fallen significantly short of its estimated potential of 100,000 metric tonnes annually. For instance, in 2021, Kenya’s annual honey production reached a modest 17,265 tonnes with a five-year average of 18,521 tonnes between 2017 and 2021 as reported by FAOSTAT. Similarly, the marketed output of honey falls short of the market demand, leading to the importation of natural honey. Over the years, Kenya has been a net importer of natural honey. The numbers reveal a trade deficit between 2013 and 2021, with imports amounting to US$ 3,307,572 and exports totalling US$ 2,542,457 as indicated by UN-COMTRADE. This trade imbalance underscores a fundamental issue that Kenya’s quantities of marketed honey production fall short of market demand from households and industries such as beauty, food, and pharmaceuticals. The failure to meet market demand can be linked to low uptake of honey commercialization in Kenya. Honey commercialization is key to improving the livelihood of communities in the ASALs through the generation of employment opportunities, diversified income sources, and value addition. The regional development authorities such as Kerio Valley Development Authority and Tana River Development Authority have programmes that aim to increase honey commercialization through farmer capacity building, encouraging adoption of modern bee hives and provision of ready markets to the farmers.