(3 minutes read)
· Intra trade among the African nations is not taking place
since the borders continue to be shut on account of the pandemic
· In Ivorian countryside, farmers having beehives are finding returns inadequate
· More focused attention to be given to enhancing the returns from rural businesses
Intra trade among the African nations is not taking place since the borders continue to be shut on account of the pandemic. For instance, in Togo, at the Togolese-Beninese border, merchants are facing difficulties on account of the closed borders. Traders say that their activities had significantly declined since 2020. Cross -border trade accounted for a significant quantum of total trade turnover of both countries. Traders from both sides are asking for opening the borders to help the economies to bounce back to their pre-Covid-19 days.
The problems being faced by the farmers of the Ivory Coast are different. A majority of the cocoa farmers are engaged in beekeeping to supplement their income. They want to pursue modern beekeeping. They produce honey and by- products of honey, such as essential oils and beeswax. Cocoa started giving better yields when pollinated by the bees. However, they are concerned about adulteration in honey being done by the traders, when they add water and sugar to honey while selling to customers, thereby compromising with the quality.
But the sad commentary is that the farmers are not in a position to take advantage of the honey they grow in the courtyard because of the high input costs, lack of demand and low volume of turnover. Also, it’s a fact that the farmers are not able to directly market the products since they do not have Euro 99 including cost towards basic equipment. However, the price of a kilogram of honey ranges from Euros 4 to 15. Spin off products like bee wax, and essential oils are also in demand. But the farmer’s version is that such levels of returns are not economical.
