A boost for honey production in Atebubu-Amantin District of Ghana

A boost for honey production in Atebubu-Amantin District of Ghana

Ghana - 21 August, 2012

Honey producers in the Atebubu-Amantin District of Ghana could soon be licensed and certified by national regulatory bodies to produce honey for the market. This is because Tropenbos International Ghana on Friday June 29, 2012 donated an honey press and a refractometer to the Atebubu-Amantin Honeybee Keepers’ Association to aid the production of high quality honey for the market.

Most honey producers in Ghana including the Atebubu-Amantin Honeybee Keepers’ Association are not licensed and certified by the Food and Drugs Board and the Ghana Standard Board due partly to their inability to use approved methods to process and package honey. The donated equipment will be crucial in the processing and testing of honey to meet the standards required for producing and marketing honey in Ghana.

The occasion was also used to launch two sourcebooks that provide relevant information on small and medium scale forest enterprise characteristics, activity centres, product markets, support institutions and service providers. The publications have been produced under the Forest Connect Ghana project implemented by TBI Ghana. The intention behind the sourcebooks is both to introduce some of the issues facing small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) in Ghana today and to increase the visibility of SMFEs and service providers to each other – with the hope that this might prompt a greater quest for support service on the one hand, and a greater incentive to provide such support on the other – given the scale at which SMFEs operate.

The launching, which was done by the District Chief Executive of the Atebubu-Amantin District Assembly, Hon. Sanja Nanja, was attended by over 50 participants drawn from Non-governmental Organisations including World Vision International Ghana, the Atebubu-Amantin District Assembly, Atebubu-Amantin Honeybee Keepers’ Association, The Energy Commission, The Business Advisory Centre of the National Board for Small Scale Industries, Ghana Wildlife Society and Atebubu Traditional Council and the media.

The Forest Connect Ghana Project forms part of an international Forest Connect alliance that seeks to support small and medium forest enterprises by linking them better to each other, to markets, to service providers and to decision-makers. Forest Connect is active in 13 countries under the coordination of the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
 

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Small and Medium Forest Enterprises in Ghana: Sourcebook on enterprise characteristics, activity centres, product markets, support institutions and service providers

Small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) are a subject of increasing importance in Ghana as forest resources decline and demands upon them continue unabated. The use of fallow land, farm and reserved forest trees by these domestic actors is likely to play a defining role in the future of Ghana’s forests.

SMFEs in this context refer to forestry related enterprises employing one person or few people. They are characterised by having minimal capital and employing informally trained workers but sometimes with a high revenue profile with the potential for value addition backed by higher capital and skill levels. Such enterprises are mostly based on non-timber forest products (NTFPs). These include honey, bush meat, medicinal and herbal products, wild fruits, leaves and nuts, and community based ecotourism. But there are also a substantial number based on wood or timber. These include wood and charcoal enterprises, chainsaw lumber production and trade, wood carving, carpentry and chewsticks.

The aim behind the sourcebook is to introduce some of the issues facing SMFEs in Ghana today and to increase the visibility of SMFEs and service providers to each other – with the hope that this might prompt a greater quest for support service on the one hand, and a greater incentive to provide such support on the other – given the scale at which SMFEs operate.