Generating income from decent jobs for the young people in Ethiopia is a challenging matter besides the overall difficulty of creating jobs. Actually, Ethiopia is a country with severe unemployment problem that particularly affects young people.
To address the problem, the government has been working in collaboration with various domestic and international actors.
Among these actors, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) is the one that is working in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the Ethiopian government and several other public and private sectors embarked on a program with the title “MOre Young Entrepreneurs in Silk and Honey (MOYESH)’’ to contribute to government efforts geared toward reducing youth unemployment in the country.
The goal of the program is to “secure dignified and fulfilling direct employment and income for 100,000 unemployed youth of which 60 percent are women” through providing youth with appropriate knowledge and skills and enabling them to establish beekeeping and sericulture business enterprises.
In a recently held honey festival at Bedele town, The Ethiopian Herald exclusively approached Tariku Tollessa a model farmer came from Illubabour Zone, Yayu Woreda, Gare Kebele to share his experience in beekeeping business. He said that it has been 15 years since he engaged in beekeeping business.
He commenced the business with traditional hives and then continued doing beekeeping business in transformational hives. Currently, he is running the business in the three stages with traditional, transformational and modern hives operating nearly on 200 hives all together.
He has been harvesting honey 3 times per year the amount of 2500 kg from modern, 250 kg from transformational, and 150 kg from traditional hives. His business has been going productive because of the knowledge and skill support he gained from the government and MOYESH program implemented by icipe.
Honey exhibition and festival held are raising market linkage for honey products, he said adding that he is planning to export honey product together with other farmers besides selling in domestic market. He said: “I am actually a farmer and coffee producer besides beekeeping business. Apiculture is not hard business to undertake. I bought land and built house in city with the income I earned from this business. My total capital is estimated 2 million Birr in aggregate.”
Tigist Mesfin, who comes from Gore town and a BA degree graduate in accounting, is also engaged in the beekeeping business. She and her enterprise member were unemployed before starting this business. Acknowledging the effort and guidance icipe provided for them, she said this business is a profitable one that enables them to produces 200 up to 300 kg honey per year.
Currently, they registered 200 thousand Birr capital; she said adding that she is a finance officer in the enterprises. As a married woman, she is helping her family by the income she earns from the beekeeping business and undertaking other side business.
Jony Girma, Owner and General Manager of Green Face Trading PLC who participated in the festival, on his part shared his point of view and experiences to The Ethiopian Herald regarding beekeeping business in the area.
His company is working in Illubabor Zone, Oromia regional state and exporting organic honey and wax. There are youth enterprises working on honey production under the MOYESH project, he said adding that he was participated in the honey festival with the aim to create market linkage with honey producing enterprises under MOYESH program and to buy their export standard products.
“Our company was established four years ago and has been working in Metu town Illubabor zone, Ali Woreda, and providing guidance for engaged farmers and enterprises on apiculture development in order to boost the production range besides buying their products. It has accumulated some 6 million capitals this time. The company has exported some 180 thousand tons of honey and attracted over one million USD since its establishment,” he said.
The company started exporting organic certified honey since 2018 to European market but the company is planning to boost honey production and productivity in a bid to expand its market destinations, he said adding that changing beekeepers’ live; attracting foreign currency and creating job opportunity for the people are the major goals of the company.
Conserving the forest is a key matter to keep and boost honey production. The company has been working with 300 beekeeping farms in general but it also plans to create more jobs for the people that translated in increasing productivity of the existing quality honey to make massive export and attract more foreign currency.
“No enough honey products in the market. Hence, domestic price is also higher than export price and the business requires undertaking activities that increase honey production and productivity with the aim of stabilizing domestic price.”
There is honey potential in the region but it needs action linked with skill and knowledge of modern beekeeping business which is what MOYESH program is doing here. On the festival, icipe’s MOYESH program outputs successfully introduced and promoted the honey products.
The festival has also played significant role to mobilize community and youth enterprises on the honey and its production business as well as to link honey producers with potential buyers and financial sectors.
It also learned that the festival has significant role in helping youth enterprises engaged in input supplying like hive, protective clothes and wax along with promoting their products and contribution of the program in their life and business.
Since its implementation MOYESH has created decent and dignified job opportunities in the program implemented area with appropriate market linkages for the enterprises and individuals. The program further will have positive impacts on 14.6 million people along with the honey and silk value chains through multiplier effects, it was learned.
MOYESH is a five year program (October 2019- October 2024) implemented by icipe in partnership with private, and public sector actors in four regions of Ethiopia.
BY MULATU BELACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 28 APRIL 2022
