Comparative economic analysis of modern and traditional bee-keeping in Lere and Zaria local government areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the comparative economic analysis of modern and traditional bee-keeping business in selected local government areas of Kaduna state, in Northern Nigeria during the 2010 production season using statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, farm budgeting model and Regression analysis. A purposive random sampling technique was employed to sample 80 respondents, from the two local government area selected in Kaduna state. The result revealed that 65.0% of modern beekeeper were male, while for the traditional 62.5% were male. Cost and returns analysis shows that modern beekeeper had the highest mean gross margin of N 5,264.2 per hive/ year compared to N1,391.925 per hive/ year for traditional beekeeper. Exponential function was chosen as the lead equation for beekeepers in the study area, with an R2 value of 0.65. The results showed that feed, labour, and cost of storage were significant at 10%, 1% and 5% respectively. Some of the problems encountered by both categories of farmers in the study areas include; low bee swarm, expensive technology, inadequate market opportunities, inadequate finance, high cost of equipment, and hive vandalization. From the findings it was concluded that modern beekeeping is more profitable in the study area and can serve as an alternative source of income to households. It is recommended that the government should make efforts at provision of good transportation system, affordable credit, good marketing system, adequate extension contact for prompt information on latest development in bee business which are imperative for enhanced productivity and income generation to meet household needs.