By Eugenie Muchetu
Harare (New Ziana) – In the fields across Zimbabwe, a tiny creature buzzes quietly between blossoms, carrying the weight of the food security of the country on its fragile wings.
The honeybee, often overlooked, often underestimated, is the silent architect of abundance as without it, harvests would shrink, biodiversity would falter, and the rhythm of farming itself would collapse.
The humble insect is playing a pivotal role in the empowerment of communities, especially in rural communities as thousands have taken up beekeeping in the country.
Globally, bees pollinate about 75 percent of food crops, directly boosting yields of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Their work contributes billions of dollars to the global economy and sustains foods like mangoes, sunflowers, oranges, almonds, avocados, blueberries, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.
“Bees are essential to life on earth because they are the most effective pollinators, ensuring the reproduction of plants that provide food, oxygen, and habitats for countless species. They directly support food security and agricultural productivity, while also sustaining biodiversity in forests, grasslands, and wild ecosystems,” explained an officer with the Department of Veterinary Services who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Jacqualine “Queen Bee” Gowe, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Apiculture Platform and CEO of Sweet Maungwe Pvt Ltd, stressed: “Bees are very vital in our ecosystem because almost 80 percent of our food requires some form of pollination done by bees, insects like butterflies and bats even. It’s important for us to preserve bees.”
Zimbabwe’s high quality export blueberries rely heavily on bee pollination, which is essential for achieving the yield, size, and quality required for international markets.
Beyond pollination, bees contribute economically through honey, wax, and other products that support rural livelihoods.
Teverai Chigogo-Nhapi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Jovotech Investments, believes bees can be harnessed for both ecological balance and economic empowerment.
“Research tells us that if we don’t have bees, this earth will collapse within four years. That shows how important bees are in terms of pollination,” she noted.
Her company, Rural Enterprise Growth and Market Access Programme (REGMAP), has beekeeping as its flagship project and is set to assist communities, especially women and youth.
“We came up with honey as our strategic project where people would get double benefit—pollination for their crops and extra income from selling honey,” she explained.
The program specifically targets women, who have long been the backbone of Zimbabwean agriculture but often lack access to profitable ventures, with the company expecting to provide women and youth with sustainable income streams.
The Department of Veterinary Services officer said the county has 32 000 beekeepers, who produced 1,167, 628 kg of honey equivalent to 1167,6 metric tons of honey in 2025, yet imports still outweigh exports.
The common honeybee is the Africanised bee, the Apis mellifera, mainly Apis mellifera scutellata which is widely used because it produces more honey, although it is aggressive and prone to swarming/absconding and Apis mellifera adansonii.
While productive, these bees face threats, posing serious risks to ecosystems, economies, and human well being, making their protection critical for a sustainable future.
Gowe said a new hybrid emerging along the Mozambique border, with people in Chimanimani describing a very small bee which is very vicious but highly productive.
“It hasn’t been scientifically identified whether it’s scutellata or it’s a hybrid of scutellata breeding with the (Apis mellifera) litorea from Mozambique,” she explained.
Then there are the stingless bees, which are found mainly in anthills in the ground, but are not as productive as the honeybees as their production is very small. The honeycombs from the stingless bee produce very little honey which is very expensive and highly sought after because of its medicinal properties.
Zimbabwe hosts over 300 bee species, including the widely managed Apis mellifera. Indigenous wild bees are especially important for smallholder farms and natural ecosystems.
A 2020 study by Gugulethu Tarakini, Abel Chemura, and Robert Musundire found that while staple crops such as maize are wind pollinated, insect pollinated crops like pumpkin, okra, peppers, cucumber, and cowpea provide vital nutrients.
Their decline, the researchers warned, would directly affect food security, nutrition, and rural livelihoods. The study also stressed that pollination is crucial for fruit trees, cash crops such as cotton, and other food plants, making pollinator conservation an urgent priority for policymakers and farmers alike.
Beekeeping is uplifting rural communities and empowering women and youth. Through the Zimbabwe Apiculture Platform, Gowe has partnered with Zimtrade to support 450 farmers, organised into three clusters, in Chikomba, Mashonaland East province which has 200 members, and smaller groups in Nyanyadzi, Manicaland province, and Matebeleland North. The Chikomba cluster alone manages 600 communal hives.
“It’s given them extra revenue, because many subsistence farmers rely on maize, beans, and sunflower. This is extra income and less labour intensive. We’ve put them into clusters, so no one owns a hive. They harvest together as a group, and the money is shared among members,” Gowe explained.
For now, the farmers produce only honey, but Gowe expects that within two to three years they will move into value addition with products such as candles and body butters.
Chigogo Nhapi’s program will empower men, women, youth, and small enterprises across all ten provinces, with about 150 members per province. Women make up nearly 70 per cent of participants, underscoring Jovotech Investments’ commitment to gender empowerment.
While men often handle hive construction and harvesting, women are central to the vision. By opening access to profitable ventures, the programme aims to transform rural economies and reduce the vulnerability of women who work the fields yet struggle to secure sustainable income.
The programme aims to equip farmers with 20 hives each—a mix of movable Langstroth and cheaper Kenyan top bar hives—plus training, at a cost of about US$2,000 per farmer financed by financiers for the project.
Despite the expense, honey production is relatively cheaper than many other agricultural projects, and with proper management Zimbabwe could position itself as a honey exporting nation. Hive products such as beeswax pollen, propolis, bee bread, and venom also have uses in nutrition, medicine, and cosmetics.
One of the most promising opportunities lies in commercial hive rentals for pollination, where farmers boost yields of crops like mangoes, almonds, and blueberries while earning from both honey and rental fees. “This model could be transformative in Zimbabwe, where farmers benefit from enhanced pollination while beekeepers profit from honey sales and hive rentals,” says Chigogo Nhapi.
Gowe confirmed that hive rental is already widespread, especially for blueberries, avocados, and macadamia.
“Those are the main three that people are using hired bees. With blueberries, most farmers use five to eight hives per hectare, while mango orchards may need two to three per hectare depending on tree density,” she explained.
Her company, Sweet Maungwe, which has won many awards at local, regional and international platforms, manages nearly 2 000 hives across the country through contract farmers, producing about 20 tons of honey annually.
Gowe said she earns over US$20 000 per year from apiculture, combining honey sales with hive rentals.
“Per year, it’s easy to do US$20 000, because pollination alone, I can make over US$10 000 with anything from 50 to 100 hives,” she said.
In the Eastern Highlands they now get a third harvest because of a shrub that came through Cyclone Idai, which they call Mpese pese or 2010.
The market for honey is vast both locally and internationally with trade data showing that there are less exports than imports, which means the local market is not being satisfied.
“The market is there. It’s huge, locally and internationally. We are consolidating as an off taker and export honey. Currently we are working on the Dubai market. We have paperwork that we need to do before we can export to Dubai,” said Gowe.
Currently, the sector contributes less than 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product, with an estimated value of US$4 million from honey, hive products, and pollination services.
Gowe believes the sector could be worth millions of dollars if managed properly but notes it remains undervalued because most production is still at subsistence level as farmers face difficulties accessing startup capital.
“If I go to a bank today and ask for funding, they want to know when I can repay. With beekeeping, I can put a hive today and go six months without it being colonised…it’s very difficult to guarantee that I will have the 100 hives colonised by year end because bees are wild,” she said.
Gowe stressed the need for a national apiculture strategy involving beekeepers, various Ministries, the Standards Association of Zimbabwe, Zimtrade, and International Trade.
“Once this document is in place, it must be implemented in line with the Ministry of Agriculture’s National Development Strategy documents, and find ways of merging apiculture into them,” she says.
She noted her significant role in drafting the CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme) Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) document, where she successfully managed to get pollination services included in it.
“At country level we’ve not implemented these aspects of pollination, yet 10% of agriculture relies on pollination. Instead of only talking about water, fertilisers, herbicides, and pesticides, why are we not promoting apiculture to improve production in agriculture?” she asked.
A major challenge is the decline in bee populations from deforestation, pesticide use, and climate change, which disrupt flowering cycles and bee–plant interactions. Rising temperatures have reduced productivity.
“Bees are declining due to pests and diseases, toxic agrochemicals, habitat loss, veld fires, poor hive management, and climate variability,” noted the Department of Veterinary Services officer.
The pressures fall into four categories namely environmental, biological, agricultural, and human. Climate change brings droughts, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme weather that destroy hives and reduce nectar. Water scarcity forces beekeepers to install artificial sources, while expanding agriculture and urbanisation reduce forage diversity.
On pests and diseases, the officer explained: “The Varroa destructor mite is one of the most destructive parasites, weakening colonies and spreading viruses. Fungal infections like Nosema and bacterial diseases such as American foulbrood can devastate hives.”
Bees face natural predators such as honey badgers, ants, and birds, while veld fires and invasive plants reduce forage quality. Modern farming practices also rely on chemicals that poison bees or disrupt their navigation.
“The global decline is caused mainly by excessive use of pesticides and herbicides. Our bees forage in fields without knowing crops have been sprayed. If they take contaminated nectar back to the hive, other bees can die. When we pollinate blueberries, we ask farmers for spray schedules and advise them to close in the bees for 12 to 24 hours depending on toxicity. The good thing is most blueberry farmers are now aware and are using less toxic, bee friendly chemicals,” says Gowe.
She emphasised the need to actively protect bees wherever they are. “If you don’t need bees in your garden, you can contact the Wildlife Unit or National Parks (Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority). We can remove them and place them in safe areas,” she noted. Bee removal costs start at US$40, depending on location and difficulty.
Gowe also highlighted nutritional value of honey compared to sugar. “People who use honey are healthier in terms of sugar levels and less likely to get diabetes, because honey provides steady energy while sugar causes sharp spikes and drops that damage the pancreas. Honey is vital for us as human being and it’s also food for the bees. Preserving them ensures they keep producing for themselves and for us,” she explained.
Chigogo Nhapi stressed the need for standardisation and certification as substandard honey on the market has eroded consumer trust, with uncertified products sold in the streets and shops without testing. “People in the sector must put their heads together and come up with control measures that ensure responsibility. Proper regulation could restore confidence and open doors to international markets.”
Gowe explained that this is why she partnered with Zimtrade on the honey project, to enforce standards from hive to harvest.
“Farmers are taught how to place hives, monitor, and harvest, and they are given the right tools. We don’t expect to see honey coming in a bucket that had oil or paint. At harvest, we work with them, and the honey is processed at one place on the farm,” she explained.
Beyond technical challenges, cultural attitudes remain a barrier with a 2020 study by Tarakini et al finding that fear of bees among farmers reduced knowledge of pollination and interest in beekeeping.
They argued that practical education where farmers observe protective measures and learn to distinguish between harmless and dangerous species, could reduce fear and strengthen conservation. More in depth knowledge, they concluded, is essential to shift attitudes and encourage sustainable practices.
Another drawback has been the absence of a single national association to coordinate activities and champion beekeepers’ interests, as the sector remains fragmented across numerous groups, including the Beekeepers Association of Zimbabwe Trust, Professional Beekeepers Association of Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Beekeepers Association, Allied Bees, Zimbabwe Apiculture Platform, Chipinge Beekeepers Association, and various provincial and district bodies.
Gowe leads the Zimbabwe Apiculture Platform, which helps local farmers and urban beekeepers preserve bees in humane environments. “Our WhatsApp group has over 300 members, but one person may represent 20 or 30 farmers,” she explained.
She noted that attempts to form a unified association have been hindered by patriarchy. “It’s a male dominated sector. Cultural beliefs say bees are handled by men, so leadership should be male. If a woman is leading and successful, they ask why she should lead when they’ve been there longer. It boils down to patriarchy. It made me feel like I was pushing an agenda, but I just want to help the sector,” she said.
The honey projects under Jovotech Investments and Sweet Maungwe represent more than agriculture — they are a vision for resilience, empowerment, and ecological balance.
By equipping farmers with hives, knowledge, and market access, these programs can transform rural livelihoods, strengthen food security, and contribute to Zimbabwe’s economy and, with women at the centre, they also challenge long standing inequalities in agricultural income.
The buzz of bees in Zimbabwe’s fields is not just background noise — it is the sound of possibility.
If financial partners, policymakers, and communities rally behind these initiatives, the country could secure its food systems and carve out a niche in the global honey market.
In the fragile wings of bees lies the promise of abundance, empowerment, and sustainability.
