By Samuel Phiri, MANA
Bee keeping farmers in Traditional Authority Lukwa in Kasungu have commended Katope honey processing factory in the area for improving their livelihoods.
The smallholder farmers, surrounding Kasungu National Park, said in an interview on Thursday that the factory, opened in December 2019, has encouraged them to turn to bee-keeping instead of plundering national park resources for livelihood.
Katope Bee Keeping Cooperative
A committee member from Katope Bee Keeping Cooperative, Elizabeth Nyirenda said they now value bee-keeping as business because they make good profits.
“We are happy to see the factory working because it has really improved quality of our honey and we make more profits,” Nyirenda said.
Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM) equipped the farmers with skills on honey processing business and its Kasungu project coordinator, Charles Matewere said the cooperative now has the capacity to do better and help in boosting the country’s economy.
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“Now that the cooperative is officially registered with the Registrar of Cooperatives, the future is bright and their scope has been widened beyond honey processing.
“The cooperative has been registered as Producers’ and Marketing Cooperative. This enables the cooperative to produce other profitable value chains like soya beans and sunflower,” Matewere said.
The money was utilised for construction of the factory structure, provision of honey production and processing equipment and audit services.