Abstract

The study examined factors affecting the adoption of Apiculture in Traditional Authority (TA) Nthiramanja, Mulanje District in Malawi. Units of analysis were household heads in TA Nthiramanja, TA Chimaliro in Thyolo District, TA Chikumbu and TA Mabuka in Mulanje District. They were stratified as beekeeping and national examinations heads. Random sampling was used to select 60 household heads for each of the three categories: beekeepers from main study site, beekeepers from control sites and non beekeepers. A questionnaire was administered to characterise the socio-economic information of household heads. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to triangulate data. Exploratory data analysis and logistic regression model were employed to determine factors affecting adoption of Apiculture. Statistical tests were conducted at 5% significance level using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and Excel. The study showed that adopters and non-adopters had some similarities and differences in socio-economic characteristics. The study also revealed that the majority of hives for beekeepers [97.5% (233)] were constructed through environmentally friendly technologies. Results also showed that harvesting technologies used by the majority of beekeepers [100.0 % (60)] were environmentally friendly. The total economic returns from Apiculture ranked second after crop farming. A logistic regression model for adopters and non-adopters revealed that factors significantly affecting adoption of Apiculture in TA Nthiramanja were age (p=0.014), nature of secondary economic activities (p=0.000) and membership in cooperative organisations (p=0.001). Older household heads (50-59 years) were 1.399 (95% CI: 0.210, 9.319) more likely to adopt Apiculture than younger ones (20-29 years) and those aged 60 years and above were 1.113 (95% CI: 0.165, 7.515) times more likely to adopt than younger ones (20-29 years). Household heads whose secondary economic activities were on-farm in nature were 18.614 (95% CI: 4.754, 72.879) times more likely to adopt Apiculture than the rest. Household heads that subscribed to cooperative organisations were 13.349 (95% CI: 2.744, 64.993) times more likely to adopt than those who did not subscribe. The study recommends that younger household heads, those whose secondary economic activities are off-farm, and household heads that do not subscribe to cooperative organisations should be encouraged to start Apiculture. Future studies should concentrate on consolidating the positive impact of Apiculture on forest cover in the study site. Other studies should concentrate on the quality of honey produced and harvested through environmentally friendly and unfriendly technologies.

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School	: School of Natural and Applied Sciences
Issued Date	: 2010

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