Tanzania: Dar Sets Sights On Medicinal Honey

By Florence Mugarula

THE University of Dar es Salaam is researching the best ways to promote beekeeping technology,

with focus on mass production of the lucrative medicinal honey.

The study on apiculture technology is being conducted through the College of Agricultural Sciences and Fisheries Technology Department of Crop Sciences and Beekeeping Technology and seeks to make the sub-sector more lucrative.

The Senior Lecturer and Head of Department, Dr Mkabwa Manoko told 'the Daily News' in an exclusive interview recently that his department has been researching medicinal honey, which is expensive and useful for human health.

Dr Manoko revealed that the department's ultimate goal is to come up with the new bee product, medicinal honey that will have the same properties as 'manuka honey' which is produced in New Zealand.

The department has already conducted a preliminary study in collaboration with Muhimbili National Hospital on medicinal honey and according to Dr Manoko the results were topnotch.

"Honey is more valuable when it is used as medicine, manuka honey, which is produced in New Zealand is very expensive and more useful," he said.

According to the Amazon online market, a 250-gram jar of manuka honey costs around 37 US dollar.

Dr Manoko said Tanzania needs to do more to exploit various opportunities available in the beekeeping industry. He said there are many products from the industry and that honey is just one of them.

"Most Tanzanians think of honey when we talk about beekeeping but there are many products, which are potential for economic growth," he said.

He mentioned some of the products as royal jelly, which is a gelatinous substance produced by honey bees to feed the queen bees and their young. It's frequently sold as a dietary supplement to treat a variety of physical ailments and chronic diseases.

Another product from beekeeping is bee venom, which is used as medicine. According to Dr Manoko, the product is used for treating various diseases while bee pollen is a source of protein.

Dr Manoko said another product is bee propolis, which contains medicinal properties, and very useful in the manufacture of toothpastes and propolis capsules.

Another valuable bee product is wax--a leading export product in the beekeeping industry in the country.

Dr Manoko revealed further that apart from exporting wax, his department is researching on the manufacturing of various products that will add value to the produced wax.

He said, so far, his department has succeeded to research and produce bacteria soap, hand-wash honey and honey lotion.

Others are leap balm, shoe polish, wood varnish, repellent candles, cough mixture and many others.

According to FAO statistics, Tanzania was placed 7th in the world in producing wax and it contributed 6 per cent of wax in the World in 2019.

Ethiopia is the world leading wax producer followed by Argentina, Turkey, South Korea, Kenya, Angola and Tanzania. A total of 1843 tonnes of wax was produced and exported from Tanzania in 2019.

On honey production, Tanzania produced a total of 30,393 tonnes of honey in 2017 and its contribution was 3 per cent.

According to FAO data, Tanzania was ranked 11th in honey production in 2019. China topped the chart with 47 per cent of world honey production, followed by Turkey (10 per cent), Russia (6 per cent), USA (6 per cent), India (6 per cent), Ukraine (6 per cent) Mexico (4 per cent), Ethiopia (4 per cent), Canada (3 per cent) and Tanzania (3 per cent).