Easy to search. Easy to read. Easy to cite with credible sources.
Year: 2016 | Volume: 10 | Issue: 2 | Page No.: 87 - 98
Ahmad A. Al-Ghamdi, Mohammed M. Alsharhi and Hossam F. Abou-Shaara
Abstract
Beekeeping is a dynamic activity and is impacted by many factors. A comprehensive survey was done from September, 2013 to April, 2015 to understand the current status of beekeeping in the Arabian countries and to identify the urgent needs for beekeeping development. Modern social communication means were utilized to perform the survey. Total of 138 respondents had participated in the study from 14 Arabian countries. Most of the respondents were with age from 31-45 years old (42.8% of the total). The most of them were also with high educational level with B.Sc. or higher degree (81.2% of the total) and 58.7% of them were with experience less than 10 years in beekeeping. The majority of the respondents preferred the indigenous bee races over the imported ones and 51.4% of them were only honey producers. The incorrect management of bee colonies was considered by the majority of the respondents as the most important factor behind death of the bee colonies. It could be concluded that planned training programs on beekeeping are highly required. The roles of the extension agencies are very essential to prepare suitable training programs for beekeepers. The use of the indigenous bee races in beekeeping should be supported. Effective laws and legislations to prevent honey adulteration and organize honey marketing issues are recommended to be done. Information about beekeeping in many Arabian countries are not available. Therefore, the results of this study can be considered as a baseline for any future investigations.