NORTHERN PROVINCE

BURERA — Over two tonnes of honey have produced this year from Rugarama honey processing industry in Burera district.

This was revealed during a consultative meeting of bee keepers, consultants, the national tourism office (ORTPN) and the local authorities on the strategic planning on how to tap and promote bee keeping in the Virunga volcanic area.

The two days seminar of the bee keepers is being financially supported by SNV. Meanwhile, farmers practicing bee keeping in the Virunga area have been mobilised to form a unified cooperatives through which they can solicit for technical support.

Members formed an 18 man committee that is expected to head the bee keepers’ cooperative-FAV (Forces des Apiculteurs des Volcans) and will serve to rally others in the business to professionalise bee keeping by using modern hives and harvesting equipment.

Juvenile Ruzirakuvuka the head of FAV cooperative said that harvesting ‘wild honey’ from the national park does not yield many dividends but instead destroys the bees.

Hunters in the past harvested honey from the forests of Parc National de Volcans by using fires, a situation which affected both the animals and the bees.

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