Gatundu North sub county residents and Uwezo funds beneficiaries have been urged to invest in bee keeping as a way of earning and improving their livelihoods.
Agnes Kandia, the area deputy livestock and animal health operations officer while speaking to Wandui Uwezo beneficiary groups on Tuesday 24th November 2015 said that bee keeping was easy to start as it required little capital thus making it easy for many residents to easily afford.
"With the unity you have and more so after benefiting from Uwezo funds, you can use the little you have received to start simple bee keeping projects. There is little needed from you and the outcomes of this farming are awesome," she said.
Kandia observed that the honey industry was expanding at a fast rate and that the commodity’s price was at an all-time high with market available even in foreign countries.
"I know that you have had enough training through the Uwezo department. I want to request you to use the modern ways of bee keeping to potentially produce enough for the market here in Gatundu and countrywide," she said.
"Honey production has a lot of potential in this sub county and on average, a committed farmer can harvest about 27 kilograms of raw honey which retails at Kshs. 2, 500 per kg or more if sold abroad," she added.
She revealed that natural honey was very important in nutrition and it could be used to treat some diseases hence the need to keep more bees. She was encouraging the area groups that benefited from the Uwezo funds kitty in the area to utilise the funds wisely to improve their living standards.