Togo/World Bees Day 2024: Competition for the best honey in Central Region

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Extract from the article: World Bees Day 2024 was celebrated on Monday 20 May in Sotouboua, with a number of activities based on the theme ‘Let's fly to the rescue of bees with young people’. It was accompanied by a competition to find the best honey.

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World Bees Day 2024 was celebrated on Monday 20 May in Sotouboua, with a number of activities based on the theme ‘Let's fly to the rescue of bees with young people’. It was accompanied by a competition to find the best honey. The initiative was taken 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. But only the 10 best were awarded prizes. The control 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.

Participation criteria

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 elements, 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.

The competition winners

At the end of this very rigorous process, the first prize went to the ‘Kpelouwedeou’ beekeeping cooperative in Titigbé in Sotouboua (Contact 93059420). Second and third place went to the ‘Avenir’ cooperative in Yalombè (Contact 90734580) and the ‘Abeille d'Abord’ cooperative in Sotouboua (Contact 91718708) respectively.

The competition provided an opportunity to better appreciate the quality of the honey produced by small-scale 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 aim of the World Bees Day celebrations is not only to promote improvements in the quality and competitiveness of the honey and wax produced by small-scale beekeepers, but also to preserve the natural resources around the protected areas in the Central Region. It raised awareness of the ecological, economic and nutritional importance of bees.  The meeting raised participants' awareness of the importance and role of bees in preserving biodiversity and ecosystems.

Gamé KOKO