Dubai Telegraph - Ethiopia's famed honeybees make slow recovery from war

EUR -
AED 3.94202
AFN 73.118962
ALL 98.382237
AMD 414.961623
ANG 1.932479
AOA 979.324913
ARS 1065.441672
AUD 1.623977
AWG 1.931828
AZN 1.82402
BAM 1.958451
BBD 2.16501
BDT 128.141043
BGN 1.956855
BHD 0.404399
BIF 3164.312172
BMD 1.073238
BND 1.432152
BOB 7.409028
BRL 6.095772
BSD 1.072241
BTN 90.732801
BWP 14.45129
BYN 3.509084
BYR 21035.456104
BZD 2.161405
CAD 1.492042
CDF 3078.04504
CHF 0.939958
CLF 0.037473
CLP 1034.000032
CNY 7.704123
CNH 7.640695
COP 4736.197336
CRC 549.728655
CUC 1.073238
CUP 28.440795
CVE 110.414439
CZK 25.347762
DJF 190.946655
DKK 7.458037
DOP 64.59562
DZD 143.544403
EGP 52.854376
ERN 16.098563
ETB 128.677859
FJD 2.414516
FKP 0.821208
GBP 0.831255
GEL 2.924546
GGP 0.821208
GHS 17.5107
GIP 0.821208
GMD 76.737665
GNF 9247.515904
GTQ 8.2752
GYD 224.343634
HKD 8.343494
HNL 27.047102
HRK 7.393566
HTG 141.080944
HUF 409.775517
IDR 16908.160096
ILS 4.011789
IMP 0.821208
INR 90.414737
IQD 1404.661853
IRR 45188.666722
ISK 148.28947
JEP 0.821208
JMD 169.856725
JOD 0.761139
JPY 165.769031
KES 138.32969
KGS 92.498918
KHR 4357.898128
KMF 492.213601
KPW 965.913559
KRW 1499.184302
KWD 0.329323
KYD 0.893584
KZT 528.632709
LAK 23413.251984
LBP 96021.669621
LKR 313.959072
LRD 205.347925
LSL 19.066049
LTL 3.168991
LVL 0.649191
LYD 5.195984
MAD 10.596241
MDL 19.177777
MGA 4987.65752
MKD 61.693498
MMK 3485.833718
MNT 3646.861246
MOP 8.586381
MRU 42.397988
MUR 49.926767
MVR 16.526475
MWK 1859.281767
MXN 21.635664
MYR 4.737807
MZN 68.5852
NAD 19.066049
NGN 1798.939403
NIO 39.463779
NOK 11.859817
NPR 145.168418
NZD 1.797378
OMR 0.413217
PAB 1.072251
PEN 4.0457
PGK 4.302824
PHP 63.06362
PKR 297.932656
PLN 4.352747
PYG 8336.204831
QAR 3.909692
RON 4.974673
RSD 116.991498
RUB 104.345512
RWF 1456.143659
SAR 4.031851
SBD 8.944267
SCR 14.604666
SDG 645.55573
SEK 11.634255
SGD 1.428849
SHP 0.821208
SLE 24.358824
SLL 22505.251505
SOS 612.817989
SRD 37.385175
STD 22213.850558
SVC 9.382436
SYP 2696.541845
SZL 19.055613
THB 36.860881
TJS 11.419856
TMT 3.767064
TND 3.359947
TOP 2.513635
TRY 36.698393
TTD 7.270705
TWD 34.621032
TZS 2924.572338
UAH 44.455439
UGX 3946.341113
USD 1.073238
UYU 44.620391
UZS 13714.561756
VEF 3887859.429756
VES 46.927944
VND 27260.233931
VUV 127.416951
WST 3.006336
XAF 656.833741
XAG 0.031817
XAU 0.000394
XCD 2.900478
XDR 0.803372
XOF 656.839869
XPF 119.331742
YER 268.121586
ZAR 18.915603
ZMK 9660.429004
ZMW 29.059059
ZWL 345.582055
  • RBGPF

    63.1700

    63.17

    +100%

  • CMSC

    -0.1700

    24.51

    -0.69%

  • RELX

    -0.2000

    47.71

    -0.42%

  • BCC

    3.2700

    141.76

    +2.31%

  • RIO

    -0.1700

    65.33

    -0.26%

  • CMSD

    -0.1900

    24.85

    -0.76%

  • NGG

    -1.3500

    64.12

    -2.11%

  • SCS

    0.7400

    13.06

    +5.67%

  • GSK

    -1.1200

    35.9

    -3.12%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.25

    -0.15%

  • BCE

    -0.1000

    28.74

    -0.35%

  • AZN

    -2.4200

    63.85

    -3.79%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.64

    +0.51%

  • RYCEF

    0.0800

    7.38

    +1.08%

  • VOD

    -0.1000

    9.31

    -1.07%

  • BP

    0.2000

    30.16

    +0.66%

Ethiopia's famed honeybees make slow recovery from war
Ethiopia's famed honeybees make slow recovery from war / Photo: Michele Spatari - AFP

Ethiopia's famed honeybees make slow recovery from war

In his stone house perched on a hill in northern Ethiopia, Amanuel Hiluf puts on his protective suit, carefully adjusting the hood and gloves.

Text size:

"We have to hurry up, it starts to be hot, and the bees will be upset," he says.

In his garden in Hawidela, a village about an hour from Mekele, capital of the Tigray region, the beekeeper has about 40 hives from which clouds of bees are soon escaping.

For nearly 20 years, his hives have produced white honey, a creamy, highly prized variety for which the northernmost region of Ethiopia is famous.

Amanuel, 42, remembers a time when they produced "in abundance".

But that was before the war in Tigray between federal government troops and Tigrayan rebels that raged from 2020 to 2022, which forced him to flee with his wife and children.

"In this region, there was a lot of damage," he says, pointing to a hill from which shells were fired.

When he returned a few months later, all his hives -- and his livelihood -- had been destroyed.

Before the war, he could produce about 600 kilos (1,300 pounds) of white honey each year and earn some 900,000 birr (about $7,500 at today's rates).

That is a considerable sum in a country where more than a third of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

When he resumed production, Amanuel said he had lost 95 percent of his earnings. He has gradually rebuilt the hives, but still only produces 100 kilos.

- 'Sound of misery' -

The situation is replicated across Tigray.

Goshu Welealeabzgi, a specialist for the Tigray authorities' Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources, says 40 to 60 percent of hives were destroyed by the war.

Before the conflict, he estimates there were 500,000 colonies in Tigray, with 200,000 people directly dependent on beekeeping, in a region of around six million inhabitants.

Bees were also victim to the environmental damage caused by the conflict, especially as desperate locals were forced to cut down trees, particularly the acacias that covered the hills, to sell or use for firewood.

"If trees are lost and flowers are lost, production will decrease," says Amanuel.

"The conflict harmed everybody," he adds. "The sound of bullets has stopped, but there is still the sound of misery."

His hives are home to Apis mellifera monticola bees, a particularly productive species that can survive the region's high altitudes. Mekele sits at more than 2,200 metres above sea level.

Ethiopia, an East African country with a population of around 120 million, is the continent's largest producer of honey.

Nectar is particularly important in Ethiopian culture, with yellow honey used to produce tej, a popular local mead.

Amanuel regularly sells his honey to Birhanu Araya, who runs a small shop in Mekele where dozens of cans containing the precious nectar are piled up.

"There are only very few (bees) due to the war and drought," says 61-year-old Birhanu, who has been running his business for 25 years.

"The amount that's entering now is small and the price is very high," he adds.

Goshu says he remains optimistic.

"If resources are allocated and the community gets onboard, maybe it could recover in three to five years," he says.

"We have to look forward."

G.Koya--DT