By Daniel Tyokua
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has canvassed for promotion of bee venom, propolis and Royal jelly as raw materials in food and pharmaceutical industries.
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Hussaini Ibrahim stated this during a round table conversation in Abuja, on the significance of the materials.
He explained that the council recognized the medicinal value of bees and its value chain that prompted several programmes and projects.
Ibrahim said: “I am sure that most of us if not all of us in this meeting are aware of the medicinal value of bees and its value chain.
“The importance of beekeeping has been recognized by RMRDC from its inception and this has prompted the implementation of several programs and projects aimed at increased production of Bee hives products for domestic, utilization for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes.
“The Council collaborated with Winrock International, a Non-Governmental Organization based in the United States of America, on the the Farmer to Farmer Programme on Modern Practices of Beekeeping from 1998-2003.
“The major achievement of the programme was the introduction of modern beekeeping practices to vast number of farmers in Nigeria. The volunteers from United States and Great Britain trained over 6000 Nigeria farmers on modern beekeeping practices.
“Workshops, seminars and farm visits for demonstration were held in the 6 geo-political zones of the country during the 5 years of collaboration. In all 668 beekeepers were trained comprising 462 male and 206 female.
“The Council developed and distributed Kenya Top bars hives to trained farmer. Small scale honey processing machine was also developed and distributed, one to each geo-political zone to enable the beekeepers process the anticipated honey from the distributed hives. Thereafter, the Council’s State Coordination Offices were encouraged to continue interactions with the beekeepers through regular workshops and meeting.
“Thus, RMRDC is organizing this roundtable to call for urgent efforts towards harnessing the health of Bee venom, propolis and royal jelly for possible applications in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases ravaging humanity globally. The potential for Nigeria to do well in sub-sector is high because the floral for increased production of these beehive products is available. What is lacking is political will and collaboration among stakeholders in the country.” He stated.
