| dc.description.abstract | The major purpose of the study was to determine profitability of honey production in Lamwo district northern Uganda. The specific objectives of the study were: to characterize the production and marketing challenges of honey products, to determine the profitability of honey production and to examine factors affecting profitability of honey production.
The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. Data was analyzed using the thematic approach and descriptive statistics. Qualitative approach aimed at obtaining data expressed in non-numerical terms. Qualitative approach provided ways of discerning, examining, comparing and contrasting, and interpreting meaningful patterns or themes. Qualitative approach involved examining the assembled relevant data to determine how research questions were answered at hand. Quantitative data analysis helped to analyze and categorize detain terms of frequencies and percentages. Simple descriptive tabulations were used for quantitative analysis.
Results indicated that most of the bee farmers were male (67.4) and solely farmers (65.2%) with 43.5% of them engaged in beekeeping as economic activity. In addition, data indicated that the average age was 26 years and the average number of years spent at school was 16 years. Land being used on average was 3 acres; honey producers as well have got an average experience of 10 years in honey production. The study as well revealed that majority of the bee farmers sold their products through fragment market (58%). More than half of the honey farmers (65.2%) were operating honey productions on a self-owned land. Findings also showed that 58% of the sampled honey producers had access to market information and services and on the other hand, majority complained of facing price fluctuations of honey product was the major threat.
In reference to profitability of honey production, results showed that an average gross margin of 695,000/= was obtained by honey producers which showed a profit in honey production. In addition, an average net profit of UGX 525,000/= was also realized as the farmers’ final profit in Lamwo district. According to results from factors affecting profitability of honey production in Lamwo district, study findings indicated that sex of the farmer, quantity of honey produced, education, distance to the nearest market and price of honey produced have a positive and significant relationship towards honey profitability and land acre was found to have a negative and significant relationship with honey profitability in Lamwo district. Therefore, to bridge the gap that exist in honey profitability, price of honey products should be set at a point which favors bee farmers and honey market should be made as near as possible to the producers of honey all different regions of Uganda. | en_US |
