Mozambique: Beekeeping project launched in Mágoè – AIM

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Mozambique: Beekeeping project launched in Mágoè – AIM

8:22 CAT | 29 Jul 2025

Photo: ANAC

The Mozambican authorities have launched a project aimed at producing about 100 tons of honey per year in the buffer zone of Magoé National Park, in the central province of Tete

The Community Economic Empowerment Project in the park’s buffer zone is budgeted at 20 million meticais (313,000 dollars at the current exchange rate) and is supported by the Zambezi Valley Agency.

The money will be used for the acquisition of 4,000 beehives, training for local communities, and the installation of a processing unit.

According to Nelson António, the Director of Technical and Financial Assistance for the Zambezi Agency, beekeeping will minimize human-wildlife conflict in Magoé National Park because “Bees are feared by elephants: studies show that elephants avoid areas with hives because bee stings to the eyes, trunk, and inside the ears are extremely painful.”

“Installing hives hung from fences around farmland creates a natural barrier. If an elephant touches the fence, the bees are disturbed and the animal moves away, reducing crop destruction, which is a major cause of human-elephant conflict”, he said.

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He explained that beekeeping generates honey and other products with market value, “and by providing sustainable income, it reduces direct dependence on park resources, such as hunting, firewood, or cultivation in protected areas. With sustainable economic opportunities there is less incentive for illegal wildlife hunting.”

READ:_Mozambique produces 500 tons of honey annually

Mozambique: Honey production helps families in national park buffer zone, keeps elephants away

For his part, the Secretary of State for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Momade Juízo, said that the project, which will benefit about 500,000 households, is part of the government’s priorities and ongoing efforts to ensure that biodiversity conservation increasingly contributes to community development by promoting community livelihood initiatives.

Source: AIM