Kampala — Beekeepers in Uganda will soon breathe a sigh of relief after scientists develop a national bee calendar for the country. It is to be popularised soon in various parts of the country.

The calendar would enable farmers to know when honey is ready for harvesting so they do not incur losses from delays to harvest. It wil also teach them how to safely harvest honey.

Dr Robert Kajobe, a senior tropical bee researcher at the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (Nalirri) in Tororo, told National Agricultural Research Organisation(Naro) Principal Investigators recently that lack of a bee calendar was hampering yields and honey quality.

"Some farmers harvest once a year because they can't tell if honey is ready," he said. Dr Kajobe also noted that it is possible for many farmers in different parts of the country to harvest twice a year, especially during the crops flowering seasons, than the current time.

This follows an extensive study by Nalirri which has profiled farmer's challenges, bee diseases, pests and means to increase honey output.

Currently, Uganda produces about 500 million tonnes of pure organic honey, according to the Uganda Honey Producers Association. But the agricultural zoning policy is looking at scaling up the production.

According to the policy, some areas, especially in the dry lands, are being encouraged to take on honey production as a non-traditional high value strategy to fight poverty. A European Union sponsored study indicated that there was potential to produce 500,000 metric tonnes of honey per year.

Dr Kajobe said termites, rats, snakes, brown ants and wax moths were pests of the honey bees.

"The problem stems from unhygienic and poor management of the apiary location. If the place is dirty and bushy, it will certainly attract pests," Kajobe said. Residuesand dirt contaminate the honey; affect its quality and competitiveness on international markets.

During harvesting of honey, hives are attacked at night with grass torches and in the process many bees die as honey is extracted. The calendar, would sensitise farmers on the need to have honey harvesting gowns, smoke torches and honey handlers.

Dr Kajobe said they have also identified fodder, which farmers can plant within their apiary locations for bees to easily collect nectar. Among the plants is calliandra, an exotic tree species introduced in the country about two decades ago as fodder for animals. Sunflowers also help bees in nectar collection.

The calliandra tree has for many yearsbeen promoted as fodder for goats, sheep and cattle.

Dr Jolly Kabirizi, an animal nutritionist with Naro, notes that calliandra contains a lot of nutrients for animals. "It has vitamins, fats, is easily digested by animals (especially) dairy animals and it increases milk out-put," she notes in a study done in Mukono District. This can be useful alongside helping livestock feed.

Many of the farmers practising zero-grazing in various parts of the country embraced calliandra as fodder to complement banana peelings and elephant grass.

As compared to the mutuba tree whose fresh leaves are harvested and given to animals as food supplements, calliandra is fast-maturing. It is drought resistant and highly nutritious to animals.

Unlike the mutuba tree which sheds off its leaves to avoid water loss in the dry season, calliandra flowers and is green throughout the year. The bees visit calliandra throughout the night, collecting nectar.

"But you also have to note that the bees visit some other plants. This is an enhancement, a clean source of honey for the bees. If planted around your colonies, it makes bees stay inside their colonies," Dr Kajobe says.

Calliandra is a fast-maturing small-tree (2-12 m) high. It has a trunk diameter of up to 30 cm, with white to red-brown bark and a dense canopy. The tree is a native of the humid and sub-humid regions of Central America and Mexico.