APICULTURE is an important agricultural activity in rural Africa, where honey, wax and other bee products are vital sources of food and income in communities. Honey has a high cash value and is very nutritious. It also has useful medicinal properties and is often used as a traditional remedy for infections and minor injuries where no other treatments are available. Wax is a basic ingredient of a variety of goods, including candles, skin creams and polishes, all of which can be sold or traded to enhance livelihoods. Propolis and pollen can be used as food supplements while bee venom is a proven cure for rheumatism and arthritis and there is research currently being carried out for it as a potential cure for HIV/AIDS.

1. The APICULTURE &
BEEKEEPING
INDUSTRY
A PROFILE
Economic prospectus and potential scope
Of the bee-keeping industry in Nigeria;
Insight for the investor
“1% of 1% of 1%”
GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF RAW HONEY:
1.4 MILLION TONS
VALUE IN CURRENT GLOBAL DOLLAR RATES @ $5,000 per metric:
$7 Billion or N1,120 Billion
GLOBAL VALUE OF POLLINATION BY HONEYBEES:
EURO 151 Billion or $220 Billion or N35 Trillion
TOTAL ANNUAL VALUE OF THE GLOBAL APICULTURE INDUSTRY:
$230 Billion or N40 Trillion
APPROXIMATE ANNUAL VALUE OF THE NIGERIAN APICULTURE INDUSTRY:
1% OF GLOBAL VALUE : $2.3 Billion or N368 Billion
*Statistics are quoted from FAO/UNDP/ADP/ISRAELI AGRIC MINISTRY Reports from between
2009-2011*

2. This comprises three main parts:
1- UPSTREAM: This part consists of Bee-keepers &
honey hunters who husband and manage bees so
that they can produce and harvest honey, beeswax,
bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly & bee venom.
2- MIDSTREAM: This part consists of companies and
businesses that specialize in processing these
products and packaging them so that profit can be
realized. It also involves secondary uses of Bees
such a Pollination which involves manipulating
honeybee colonies in farm plots so that more food
can be produced.
3- DOWNSTREAM: This part consists of marketing
finished products, development activities such as
training of bee-keepers and trainers, production of
relevant technology for the industry so that there will
be improved production in the upstream part.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY:COMPANIES AND
ACTIVITIES IN THE INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA
PRODUCT
MERCHANDISING:
Honey
Barg Natural Honey and more than 8 other Nigerian & foreign
brand names, package and sell over N20,000,000 worth of honey every
month.
Health supplements from
bee products
Multinational companies such as

3. Forever Living Products from USA, TCM from China, Green Life
from Europe, Swiss Guard from Switzerland, sell over N2 billion
worth of products every year.
·
TRAINING & CAPACITY
BUILDING:
USAID, DANIDA, UKAID, OXFAM and many other development
agencies have spent over N100,000,000 in training Nigerians in bee-
keeping.
POLLINATION FOR
FOOD SECURITY:
USAID, ASTC in Plateau State have invested in training and practical
usage of Pollination by Honeybees.
There are 4 key areas of Investment opportunity;
Bee-keeping for Cash Crops;
Honey, Beeswax, Royal jelly, Propolis, Pollen & Bee Venom.
Bee-keeping for Providing pollination as an
agro intensive technique
The use of bees as micro manipulators to deliver accurate pollination activity and increase crop
yield.
Bee-keeping for Apitherapy; a form of
alternative complimentary health practice
The use of honey, royal jelly,propolis, pollen & bee venom individually or compounded to deliver
health solutions for humans and animals

4. Apiculture Science & Bee-keeping
Biotechnology as an academic subject
Teaching bee-keeping as an approved Animal Husbandry subject in Sec Schools and
Entrepreneurial Elective in Tertiary Institutions.
Bee-keeping as an environmental Science to
monitor environmental quality
Using bees as bio indicators to trace and reflect atmospheric pollution on a micro-organic level.
WHAT ARE ADVANTAGES OF INVESTING
IN THIS INDUSTRY?
Start up capital requirement is 40% less
than cassava, 60% less than poultry, fishery
and piggery.
Returns on investment is over 70% in the 1
year and over 100% in following years.
Labour requirement is 50% less than 90% of
all agro-enterprises.
Want to know more about this exciting business
opportunity? CONTACT US and you can take
advantage of this emerging and rapidly
expanding Industry.