Okapa farmer urges focus on honey

By ZINA KOIM
A HONEY farmer in Eastern Highlands is urging the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) in Goroka to carry out extension programmes for honey farmers.
Potina Igio, from Okapa, said many people in the district were interested in honey farming as a business.
However, she said they did not have the know-how skills to start.
“It would be better and very helpful to the people of rural Okapa to have DAL officers step in to provide training and the assistance we would need,” Igio said.
“In Okapa, our district is in one of the remotest parts of the province so we do not have the luxury of having officers from DAL visit us.”
She said honey was a commodity that could earn farmers a good income and was not as labour intensive as other ventures especially farming crops.
“Okapa now has under 10 honey farmers, however, there are many people who are very much interested in it,” she added.
Igio said she had used the money that she earned from honey farming to pay for her children’s school fees, stationery, uniforms and other needs as well.
“I started in late 2019 with only six hives,” she said.
“I did my first sale with Queens’s Harvest at Goroka and then in 2020, I bought 10 more bee hives with the intention to produce more honey.”
Igio said it was unfortunate that the dry weather had affected honey production over the last two years.
“There is good money in honey farming and I think if more people start, it will help them as well,” she said.
She said that she branded her own products and used social media to advertise and sell her honey to customers who were her family and friends.
“I buy the honey taps, bee equipment and tools from Goroka’s Finest Honey and label them using my brand, Okapa Honey,” she said.
“Due to the weather condition, we haven’t harvested a lot.”