Engaging Smallholders in Value Chains: Creating new opportunities for beekeepers in Ethiopia

Overview

An initiative in the Amhara region of Ethiopia has capitalized on the potential of local honey production to build a promising alliance between smallholder farmers and a private-sector export company. A coalition of facilitating partners has developed the value chain for honey and other bee-derived products by providing producers with technology inputs, training, and extension services, helping them to organize their production, and creating an enabling policy environment. Farmers who previously produced small quantities of low-quality honey have quadrupled their output and are now producing certified organic honey for export to international markets, which has significantly increased their incomes.