By Moses Nampala
For the ninth year running, Vision Group, together with the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Nutrition BV, is running the Best Farmers Competition. The 2024 competition runs from April to November, with the awards in December. Every week, Vision Group platforms will publish profiles of the farmers. Winners will walk away with sh150m and a fully paid-for trip to the Netherlands.
There are abundant bees in Nebbi district. Senior citizens among the native Alur community here confess that the natural endowment of bee insects dates back to generations.
A few households do not own a handful of beehives somewhere remote on the family land, which explains why the community is no stranger to the treasured juice “honey” that the little insects generate in the hives. In the past, honey was exclusively for domestic consumption.
The more innovative section of the community, particularly the women, would brew wine from this delicacy. However, as demand for honey increased, the community slowly but steadily shifted away from traditional beehives made from logs to modern hives, from which they could now draw more income.
Emmanuella Oroma, an enterprising native, has succeeded in turning honey into a major economic activity from which she earns a livelihood.
Harvest Money traced her to her home and honey processing haven, Cananyara, Abindu division, Nebbi municipality in Nebbi district.
At 50 years old, Oroma keeps bees and also sources honey from farmers, processing it into modest quantities of 250g.
She also uses by-products of the natural resource (honey), namely wax, honeycomb and bee venom, to make wine, jelly, and propolis, a medicinal recipe. Two decades in the honey trade have seen her build a robust supply chain that now boasts a maze of beekeepers from the countryside of Nebbi district.
Today, beekeepers from the countryside with variable quantities of freshly harvested honey regularly call at her residence and honey processing haven in Nebbi municipality.
“The production of honey and other products at my honey-haven is continuous throughout the year, as freshly harvested honey is supplied regularly. My average daily purchase of freshly harvested honey staggers between 60-100kg,” she says with a chuckle.
Processed honey
When suppliers bring honey, the immediate chore is measuring its moisture content using a refractometer.
This device determines how much water the honey holds. Quality honey must not exceed a moisture content of 20 units.
“A moisture content that exceeds 20 units means the honey contains too much water, and the reverse is true,” Oroma says.
Cost of raw honey
The price of raw honey ranges between sh4,000 and sh6,000 per kilogramme.
“The lower the moisture content, the higher the price, and vice versa. Farmers who bring honey with a moisture content above 20 units are turned away,” Oroma adds.
Processing of honey
Freshly harvested honey is poured into a somewhat wider, clean container and thoroughly scrutinised.
“During harvest, some unwanted things inevitably mix up with the honey. Among others, there are dry sticks and dead bees that have to be removed outright,” she observes.
Raw honey
Once the scrutiny exercise is complete, honey is poured into a pressing machine. Among other functions of a honey pressing machine is extracting honey out of the comb.
Sieving exercise
A white, clean piece of fabric is usually used in the sieving exercise as the honey drains into yet another clean utensil.
“Sieved honey is left to settle for a period between five and seven days before it’s ready for packing,” Oroma says.
Honey wine
When fresh honey is supplied by farmers, it often contains combs. Even after the honey has been extracted from the comb using a machine, residues remain that still hold some honey.
“Normally, the residues from the honey, including squished comb, are soaked in fresh clean water in a plastic or metallic drum and stirred. The sweetness of the solution after stirring determines its quality,” Oroma explains.
Filtering
After three months, the solution in the drum container is filtered to remove the residues. It is then transferred to another drum to continue fermentation for another three months until the wine is ready.
Wine
After six months of fermentation, Oroma’s wine is ready for packing. Her wine comes in packs of 750ml. “A bottle of wine goes for sh20,000,” she says.
Jelly
Like wine, jelly is obtained from by-products of honey. Among the residues from which honey is obtained are combs.
“Apart from pollen collected from flowers, bees also collect wax from numerous tree species in the wilderness. Wax is a yellowish sticky substance emitted by wild plants, primarily tree species,” Oroma says.
“The wax material is a crucial element in the world of bees as it helps them build chambers in the hives. During hive construction, bees draw wax from various wild plants.
“The combination of wax drawn from different wild plants to build hives has been proven to hold medicinal properties that can heal many human ailments, including skin diseases such as scabies, rashes, ringworms and coughs in both children and adults,” she adds.
“After the honey has been obtained, we use a wax extractor to melt the combs.”
Other ingredients
The melted combs are mixed with essential oils. A perfume solution is another ingredient added purposefully to rid the mixture of the deep honey smell. The mixture in a saucepan is not heated directly over fi re but rather with steam from boiling water.
“This means a large saucepan containing water is placed on the stove, and another saucepan containing the mixture is placed on top, receiving heat from the hot vapour of the boiling water.” The heating process continues for 15 minutes, after which the jelly is ready to be packed.
Medicinal properties
Years of experience in this field have enabled Oroma to harvest propolis, which she technically reduces into a solution and then packs into small bottles for sale. A small bottle of propolis sells for sh5,000.
“The demand for propolis in the open market is overwhelming. I’ve lost count of the testimonies from people who have used it and experienced instant positive responses,” she adds.
Insight of honey
Oroma has been involved in the honey business since 2004. Initially, she processed honey and sold it locally to consumers.
However, her turning point came in 2006 when experts from the Uganda National Apiculture Organisation decided to induct beekeeping farmers in previously untapped aspects of honey production.
Challenges
While her jelly and wine products are currently flourishing in the market, Oroma still needs to undergo a lengthy and rigorous formal process to qualify for certification from the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.
Plan
Oroma dreams of building a large honey processing factory if she could secure enough financial resources.
“The construction of a honey processing factory would significantly expand our production scale. More importantly, it would create employment opportunities both directly and indirectly,” she says.
Achievement
Operating her honey business with a base in the countryside has protected numerous beekeepers from exploitation.
Julius Ojwang, the chairperson of the Beekeepers Association, says middlemen used to buy a kilogramme of honey from ordinary farmers for as low as between sh1,000 and sh1,500, a stark contrast to the sh4,000 to sh6,000 that Oroma offers.
Over the years in business, Oroma has also invested in land in a prime area of Nebbi town, where she now operates.
As a widow and mother of two, Oroma has used part of the proceeds from her business to pay tuition for her children in various higher institutions of learning.
Her involvement in the honey business has also opened doors for her to travel to numerous foreign countries, with her most recent trip being to Ankara, Turkey, for a global women entrepreneur conference. Operating her honey business has also allowed her to train over 600 women in the field.
Other voices
Julius Ojwang
Oroma is a generous woman. While honey is undeniably her business, she is known for offering a fair price to the poor beekeepers who supply her with honey.
Agnes Alum
She has encouraged us to slowly start our apiaries from which we can obtain honey to sell to her and earn some money.
We play the role of brokers, buying the honey at a lower price and selling it to Oroma with a smaller profit margin to make a living.
This symbiotic relationship not only supports local women economically, but also strengthens Oroma’s supply chain, ensuring a steady flow of quality honey for her business.
