County Turns To Bee Keeping and Fish farming For Food Security

“In 2015, we target to build a honey refinery to be able to add value to our farmers and customers. We want to replicate the Banisa bee keeping success to other parts of the county with potential.”  -Halima Abdi.

If you doubted Mandera as a land of unlimited opportunities and endless possibilities then you should taste man’s sweetest food – honey – from the Mandera desert. Later, you can also have her fish.

While limited water supply remains the single largest constraint for aquaculture development in Mandera, the county has a huge potential for fish farming and bee keeping. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) notes, however, that where the resource is available, the development of integrated aqua-agriculture systems may certainly provide economic opportunities from such resource-limited regions. Such farming systems may also enable the production of highly priced fish, vegetables and fruits all year round.

 This is what Mandera County Government is doing with its people, who are largely pastoralists. The administration of Governor Captain Ali Roba has set up fish demonstration farms. In Mandera Town, Hassan Ahmed Yussuf has become a fish farmer tending to a pond. Besides it, he has lush green banana plantations.

Beehives also line up along the farm.  “Fish has a huge demand and I already have orders from local hotels and restaurants seeking to enjoy tilapia,” says Yussuf. He hopes to harvest in April. Yussuf knows too well where demand is coming from.

“People are changing from red meat, and white meat from fish and chicken is becoming a ready alternative. I am sure I cannot go wrong with plans for my fishpond, as I do mixed farming. Over a distance in Bulahaj location, another farmer Mahamoud Abrahaman Adan is using water from River Daua to do business. He runs a fishpond, keeps bees, irrigates hay and grows vegetables.

A fish pond at Bulahaj Division

Honey for sale in Mandera Town

Harvested fish from fishponds in Bulahaj location

Desert honey is man’s sweetest food

When Kenyan entomologist and lover of insects Dino Martins wrote on his blog in National Geographic, he made stunning revelations of the untapped bee potential in Northern Kenya. Said Dino in his blog: “Deserts and dry-lands are often mistakenly thought to be places of low diversity. However, they are rich in insect life, but most of this is hidden away, awaiting the brief periods of flowering. As this time is now upon us, it has been very exciting for the students to glimpse some of the incredible bee diversity in this habitat. “

One of the insects that are more diverse in dry lands, especially in Africa, is the bee. These are wild bee species, and many people are surprised to learn that there are more than just honeybees. Bee diversity in this area is largely unexplored, and no doubt many exciting new species and biology remains to be discovered.”

The minister for Livestock and Fisheries in Mandera County Assembly Halima Abdi Ali, whose docket includes promoting beekeeping, says the potential for honey is immense. “In Banisa, we have 27,000 beehives and we produce 238 tonnes of raw honey annually, and this earns farmers at least Sh105 million,” the minister says.

“In 2015, we target to build a honey refinery to be able to add value to our customers. We want to replicate the Banisa bee keeping success

to other parts of the county with potential,” says Halima.