Beekeeping: An alternative source of income for cocoa-farming families
For cocoa-growing farmers in West Africa, work can be seasonal. This can put farmers and their families in an uncertain financial position outside of harvest periods. The Nestlé Cocoa Plan and now the innovative income accelerator program is helping cocoa-growing communities to thrive with schemes to diversify sources of income year-round.
Traditionally, this has included rearing livestock and planting alternative crops such as cassava and plantain. More recently, we have begun providing farmers with assistance to undertake beekeeping.
We’ve provided thirteen farmers with training and materials to start keeping bees. Requiring only basic equipment, and minimal space for hives, it can give farmers and their families a low-space and low-expense source of additional income. By connecting them with Master Beekeepers like Kwame Abedue, we are helping impart the skills and knowledge of the trade so that cocoa farming is no longer their single income. We see beekeeping as a future alternative income stream for cocoa farming families.
Watch the video and find out more.