- Kitui beekeepers secure a new commercial market through a partnership with MaCuisine.
- The agreement aims to protect honey producers from exploitative middlemen and unstable prices.
- A government donation of 50 beehives is expected to boost local honey production.
Beekeepers in Kitui South Sub-County now have a guaranteed buyer for their honey after the Kamaki Beekeepers Cooperative signed an offtake agreement with food manufacturer MaCuisine.
Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke championed the deal. It gives honey producers in the region a steady, high-volume market and shields them from price swings and exploitative middlemen.
For years, small-scale bee farmers in arid and semi-arid areas such as Kitui have struggled to find stable, profitable buyers. Many have depended on informal local traders who set prices as they please. Under the new arrangement, MaCuisine will buy the honey that Kamaki members aggregate, which gives the cooperative the assurance it needs to expand production.
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Mueke also donated 50 beehives to the cooperative to help members increase their harvest. He said apiculture holds huge economic potential. He noted that linking grassroots producers directly with established processors is critical to lifting rural incomes and cutting the country’s reliance on honey imports.
In addition, the partnership is expected to raise standards. Farmers will be encouraged to follow organic harvesting methods and strict purity requirements so that their honey meets the demands of premium retail packaging.
Hundreds of local beekeepers are projected to benefit. With predictable cash flows, many could move from subsistence beekeeping into a commercial enterprise.
By Benedict Aoya
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