Linking Producers to Markets

In isolated North-Western Province of Zambia, smallholders in the Miombo forests in the headwaters of the Zambezi River have traditionally followed the honey-guide bird to find seasonal sweets, but not much income.

Thanks to the USAID-supported Zambia Agribusiness Technical Assistance Center (ZATAC) project, 3000 smallholders have now been trained in beekeeping, boosting household incomes by more than 60 percent. They now produce, harvest, and properly handle certified organic honey for export to the European Union, and soon to the Middle East and the USA.

Within less than a year of assistance, certified organic honey exports leaped by over 200% from 50 to 180 tons the first season. By September 2004, organic honey exports hit the 350 tons mark, making Zambia one of the largest organic honey exporters in Africa.