Alfred Aleku, a 35-year-old youth and Coordinator of Terego Youth Unit, Terego District has witnessed an impact in his life through his honey business.
Aleku’s journey began as a member of the Arua District Young Farmers’ Association (ARUDYFA), where he would travel 20km to attend meetings with other members.
“The Arua District Young Farmers Association picked interest in the bee hives I used to construct. Therefore, I was recommended by the association to become a Trainer of Trainer,” Aleku recalls.
With the support of the Young Farmers’ Federation of Uganda and Trias East Africa, Aleku’s honey business has flourished, earning him over UGX 1M weekly. However, it wasn’t until he made a move to become a member of UNYFA following the formation of the Terego Youth Unit in 2019 that his fortunes changed.
“My livelihood has changed greatly with the impact of the programme on both me and the community. I have created jobs which are not only supporting my employees but also their households,” says Aleku.
Through the INCENT Programme, Aleku received training on market research and the Enabling Rural Innovations (ERI) model, facilitated by Richard Nsamba, an Agro enterprise development advisor at Trias East Africa. This training empowered Aleku to approach agriculture as a business, and he has since trained his five staff members to be fully involved in marketing the honey.
“The training approach, particularly the ERI model, has influenced me with the way I got to put into practice its aspects of embracing agriculture as a business.” My mindset and that of my employees have both been widened by this,” he reveals.
As an owner of a shop dealing in honey, for about 2 years, he only relied on middlemen for his honey to reach the market in the areas of Oriama. But through out the training he participated in and later on conducted in the community, he learnt market analysis skills which he put into practice and has enabled his business to flourish.
Aleku has tapped into opportunities of being a member of UNYFA through networking whereby UNYFA has linked him to World of Bees. He is distributing over 100 litres of honey weekly whereby each 20 litres of honey cost UGX 200,000.
“UNYFA has played a major role in linking me to potential buyers, such as World of Bees and Irama Honey, as it has increased my earnings and saved me from exploitation by middlemen,” Aleku says.
He adds, “At Irama, I distribute 60 Litres of honey weekly whereby I earn UGX 600,000.”
Aleku’s business has not only created jobs but also impacted the community. At least 60 youth in Uriama and Bilafe are involved in honey value addition, producing shoe polish from bee wax. Aleku’s shop, which deals in honey, has become a hub for innovation.
(A sample of bee wax a natural product from honey bees)
Despite the success, Aleku’s business faces challenges, including the need for more investment in equipment to process honey at a large scale. He plans to acquire more knowledge and skilling on honey value addition and machinery, including a bee venom machine, and register his business with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to meet market standards.