Editor,

RE: "Beekeeping, the traditional Rwandan way” (The New Times, August 2).

This is quite informative. I wish however to raise some key issues to consider.

1. The organic nature of honey: Rwanda needs to carefully and zealously guard its organic products as a country that’s relatively free from harmful fertilizers/pesticides... The Ministry of Agriculture (Minagri) needs to help beekeeping communities to ensure they don’t compromise this, as organic produce fetches good if not premium prices on the market.

To this end, Minagri needs to help farmers ensure the value chain remains organic and they gain internationally recognised certifications. This should include capacity building programmes of such cooperatives.

2. Access to international markets: RDB, through its export promotion department, and NAEB (National Agricultural Export Board) need to join hands and identify key organic produce exhibitions and facilitate some of these cooperatives to be present in order to make key networks and market Rwanda’s honey as a whole.

3. Stimulating domestic consumption: Rwanda Bureau of Standards needs to avail strong standards, so that domestic consumers can source reliable honey from some of the cooperatives in order to expand their market base. Some of the stories one hears of local honey — e.g. mixed with bananas… — to make them thick is simply a turn off.

Kigali Girl