Competition for the best honey from beekeeping cooperatives in Togo's Central Region

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Extract from the article: As part of the World Bees Day celebrations on 20 May, a competition to determine the best honey was organised in the Central region. Now in its second year, the event was organised especially for the region's small-scale beekeepers, who subjected the

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As part of the World Bees Day celebrations on 20 May, a competition to determine the best honey was organised in the Central region. Now in its second year, the event was organised especially for the region's small-scale beekeepers, who subjected their 2022 harvest to a rigorous quality control process. The initiative was launched by the Union of Beekeepers of the Central Region of Togo, with the financial and technical support of the MiKaGo project, the NGO Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF)-Switzerland and its partners GEVAPAF and CASADD-VR. The aims of the competition are to promote the consumption of quality honey, and to encourage small-scale beekeepers to strive for excellence in their activity while preserving the forests.

A total of 24 beekeeping cooperatives supported by the MiKaGo project took part in the competition. The monitoring process involved collecting two 0.25-litre samples of honey from each cooperative. These samples were then analysed: one by a laboratory to analyse the biochemical criteria of the honey (sugar and water content), and the other by a local committee responsible for carrying out physical tests.

 

Several quality criteria were taken into account. Firstly, biochemical parameters were assessed by the forestry research laboratory at the University of Lomé (UL).Secondly, physical tests were carried out, including dissolving the honey in water, mixing the honey with fine sand and lighting a stick impregnated with honey.The third criterion is ecological, based on factors such as the location of the apiaries, the distance from neighbouring villages and agricultural plots, and the types of crops grown.Other factors, such as the use of harvesting equipment and the actions taken by the cooperatives to protect bees and the environment, were also taken into account.At the end of this very rigorous process, the Doolè beekeeping cooperative in Kpassouadè, in the commune of Tchaoudjo 4, was awarded first prize with an average score of 17.90 out of 20.Second and third place went respectively to the Depond-Mon cooperative in Bassar and the Hassana Gafole cooperative in Affem, in the Tchamba prefecture.

This competition provided an opportunity to better appreciate the quality of honey from small beekeepers in the Central region through the analyses carried out.These analyses proved that the honey from all the cooperatives taking part in the competition is classified as good quality honey, given its water and sugar content.

The managers of the Doolè cooperative, which won the competition, are proud of this distinction.They declared that their cooperative is still highly motivated to continue practising beekeeping that always respects the environment, and invited Togolese consumers to give priority to local honey over imported honey.

Gamé KOKO