Study on Challenges and Opportunities of Beekeeping in Gimbi District,West Wollega Zone, Ethiopia

The study was carried out in Gimbi district, west Wollega zone, Ethiopia to assess beekeeping constraints and exploit the existing opportunities for beekeeping. The study used interview, survey and field observation as method of looking for answers for research questions. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select study sites and household respondents. 156 total household respondents were interviewed using semistructured questionnaires during the study period and SPSS software version 23 was used to analyze the gathered data. 5.42 ± 0.18, 10.23 ± 0.36 and 15.69 ± 0.59 kg were the average honey yield annually from traditional, intermediate and improved hive, respectively. Quality of honey (60.9%), distance from the market place (18.59%) and consumer’s preference (12.82%) were among the most factors governing the price of honey. Even though availability of bee forage and water, presence of immense number of bee density, high demand for local honey from honey traders and consumers and government attention to this sub-sector were encountered as opportunities for beekeeping development, improper application of agro-chemical inputs (1st), high cost of modern hive and equipment (2nd), diseases (3rd) and pests and predators (4th) were the challenges. Characterization of honeybees of the area, diseases and pest and predators needs further study.