Trees x Bees (TxB) 

“Creating and improving self-employment in the apicultural sector in Uganda”

The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization (TUNADO) operates on the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) model through which beekeepers receive technical extension services with a focus on doing BEEKEEPING AS A BUSINESS. One of the groups targeted by the project are young coffee farmers interested in diversifying their incomes through beekeeping while at the same time improving their coffee yields through pollination services from bees. The project recruited 10 Apiary Masters (AMs) who provide extension services to the beekeepers in all aspects of beekeeping. Although coffee is a bee forage that some beekeepers have, Macadamia Nut seedlings were also delivered to provide additional forage and extra income to the beekeepers. The Macadamia seedlings were delivered at every RTC and the agronomist took the RTC staff in various locations (3) through training in Macadamia agronomy. The AMs at each RTC also participated in the training so that they cascade the same to the youthful beekeepers.

Trees x Bees is a project that promotes youth employment largely targeting females through beekeeping business in rural Uganda, under the challenge fund for youth employment, a programme funded by the Netherlands ministry for foreign affairs. The project is implemented by a consortium of four partners that includes  Woord en Daad a faith based organisation in Netherlands as the lead partner, The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization TUNADO as the lead implementing agency in partnership with Trias – Uganda,World of Bees (U) Ltd and LM international.

The project has a core objective of establishing a self-sustaining service-structure that will allow un(der)employed youth to acquire decent (self-)employment in beekeeping.

Specific objective

1. To ensure that 1500 youth, of which at least 1050 women (70%), have a profitable beekeeping business, combined with tree-planting assuring them of a decent income.
2. Ensure that an Apiculture Business fund is in place with a self-sustainable service-structure that keeps creating decent (self-) employment for youth (>539 annually).

 

The project operational area is in three Rural Transformation Centres(RTCs)  of Bee house Products(Mubende, Mityana, Kyegegwa and Kiboga Districts), Bunyangabu Beekeepers Cooperative(BBC Bunyangabu, Kabarole, Ntoroko and Kasese Districts) and Delta Bees Uganda Limited(Mbarara Ibanda,Isingiro Shema, Rubirizi and Bushenyi Districts)).The project will run for a period of three years (2021 – 2023). The project targets a total of 1500 youth (1000 un(der)employed youth and 500 young coffee farmers). Of these, 1050 will be female between the ages of 18 – 35 years.

 

• TRIAS will realise the soft skills/ 21^st century skills training and certified train-the-trainer on entrepreneurship (2.5), based on their experience and existing trainings. TRIAS and TUNADO will cooperate in realising the online matching platform for youth and farmers. World of Bees will establish a revolving Apiculture Business Fund in order to achieve outcome 2 and 3 high below.

 

2.0 Outcomes areas of the project

Outcome 1: Improved or increased production realizing a viable business. TUNADO is executing all activities regarding this outcome. During the first months, RTC staff will be trained to enable them to transfer skills and knowledge. From 2021, TUNADO starts the service delivery towards both coffee farmers and new beekeepers.

Outcome 2: Inclusive and sustainable service provision: WoB will start with the enrolment of a social media campaign for reaching youth and promoting bee wax, which continues during the entire project period.\

Outcome 3: Improved farm-farm / farm-firm linkages: TRIAS starts to train RTC staff on business management, repeated on a quarterly basis. Early in the project, the 3 RTCs need to be strengthened, to become a linkage between beekeepers and processors.Tree x Bees brochure