Kamdini councilors trained in beekeeping to tackle poverty, environmental degradation
The training also included sensitization on the ecological benefits of bees, particularly their role in pollination and maintaining forest health.
Oyam: Councilors from Kamdini Sub-county in Oyam District, including Local Council leaders from Juma Parish, have completed a capacity-building training focused on modern beekeeping and sustainable agricultural practices.
The training, which also involved civil servants, covered a broad range of topics including honey harvesting, bee product processing and packaging, as well as basic marketing and record-keeping skills.
Organized as part of Phase One of the Councilors’ Economic and Livelihood Improvement Project, the initiative aims to empower smallholder farmers particularly local leaders with alternative income-generating activities while promoting environmental conservation.
Masaba Akim, Chairperson of the Nyamahasa Beekeeper Association, who facilitated the training, emphasized the multi-dimensional benefits of beekeeping.
“Modern beekeeping is not only an avenue to raise household incomes, but also a way to sustain the environment,” Akim stated. “It incentivizes communities to preserve tree cover, reduce bush burning, and protect biodiversity.”
The training also included sensitization on the ecological benefits of bees, particularly their role in pollination and maintaining forest health.
Importantly, Akim highlighted beekeeping as a natural deterrent to elephants, which have long plagued subsistence farmers by destroying crops near protected wildlife areas.
“Beehive fences have been proven effective in Nyamahasa Sub-county, where they’ve significantly reduced elephant crop raids. This makes beekeeping not only an economic activity but a strategic environmental intervention,” he said.
Nyamahasa community members living near the Karuma Wildlife Reserve in Murchison Falls National Park have been at the forefront of using bees to protect their farms. Beekeeping has become a practical solution for those whose main income source is their small gardens, frequently threatened by wildlife incursions.
Tommy Okello, the Community Development Officer for Kamdini Sub-county, hailed the initiative as a lifeline for rural communities:
“This intervention offers hope. It addresses poverty, food insecurity, and deforestation all through the lens of a single, practical solution: beekeeping.”
The project is expected to scale up across the sub-county, reaching more farmers and boosting resilience through sustainable livelihoods rooted in nature-based solutions.
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