Increasing Kavuko Community’s Appreciation of Bee Conservation as a Food Production and Security Strategy

Abstract

The research project was carried out at a small village in Makueni County, Kenya, where bee keeping has been practiced for a long time. The concern was that bee keeping practice was not linked, at least consciously to food production and security. Bees are pollinators and without pollination, food production would be drastically reduced. This demands the conscious conservation of the pollinators. There was the need to increase the community’s awareness and appreciation of bee conservation alongside traditional bee keeping, a strategy to increase the community’s food production and security. The objectives were: Establish the population of hives and bee colonies in the Kavuko area, determine the rate of hive colonisation in the area, access the community’s level of awareness especially on the relationship between pollination and crop yields and determine the yield differences between pollinated and non- pollinated crops. The methods used include; a general survey within a 2km radius from the Pollen Glory farm, the project’s focal point. A questionnaire was used to establish the exact status of each homestead in respect to the hives there, similar to the survey method, a focus group of 30 farmers each having three hives monitored their colonization, the focus group used a face-toface questionnaire to establish the awareness on value of pollination. This was complemented by setting up a “bee hotel,” a structure intended to attract different species of pollinators for guidance on how to conserve pollinators, a standard agronomical field layout was set up to test the yield differences between pollinated and non- pollinated crops. 3 crops, namely, strawberries, beans and tomatoes were planted in randomized block design with 3 replications. A control experiment, where wire mesh cages were used to exclude all pollinators was set up. Regular counts of the flowers and fruits/pods were made and graded for comparison. The results showed that; only one third (27%) of the households had hives and the common hives were traditional log hives (74%). Hive colonization was at 80% of the hives due to local management methods. The farmers (82%) were aware of the process of pollination, its benefits, but, not in relation to food production and security and their decline. They were also (68%) familiar with traditional bee conservation methods. Pollinated strawberries produced a significantly higher percentage (36%) of super grade fruits compared to non-pollinated (32%). The non-pollinated beans produced more pods. The pollinated gave a high flower abortion. Tomatoes production increased with pollinators. It was concluded that honey bees are important pollinators. Quantity and quality were enhanced by honeybee pollinators. It is recommended that; the community should be educated on the need to keep and conserve bees and take advantage of pollination services for quantity and quality. Also leverage on honey and other hive products to be socio economically empowered and combine traditional and modern innovations.