Abstract:
The main actors in the value chain were: bee keepers, middlemen, processors, consumers, local beer brewers and traditional herbalists (Fig. 1).Most of the honey buyers came from villages and adjacent trading centres. Asa result, and due to lack of value addition, the average farm-gate price(UGX 6000perkg) was substantially lower than the average market price (UGX13,000perkg).Elite middle men and some established buyers such as Bushenyi Bee honey connoisseur seem to benefit more by buying from farmer sat very low prices and adding value through packaging. The majority of sampled bee farmers (87.5%) were members of small groups and/or associations. The scale of production per household was generally low averaging thirteen beehives among the sampled households. As a result, the honey produced was still low to enable groups to enjoy economies of scale .Despite the fact that46.9%of the respondents had spent over 10years in apiculture, a reasonable number (49%) had never received any formal training. Thus, bee keepers still relied on rudimentary technologies of production such as use of traditional beehives