Assessment of the Fiscal Performance of Bee Keeping For Employment Generation and Poverty Reduction in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Beekeeping is a new venture in recent times that has the potential of improving the livelihoods of the Nigeria citizenry. A good proportion of youth and adults engaged in beekeeping. The study was embarked upon to investigate the fiscal performance of beekeeping as a possibility of reducing youth unemployment and alleviating poverty among the citizenry. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic variables of beekeepers income generating potentials of the enterprise, measured the economic efficiency and identified the constraints to honey beekeeping in the study area. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 120 respondents' purposively selected using a snowballing technique. The data collected was analyzed using Frequency counts and percentages, as well as profitability analysis and efficiency ratios. Results showed that honey beekeeping was carried out mostly by young, enlightened male respondents on a part-time basis. Most of them were members of the beekeeping association. The result also showed that the gross margin derived from Beekeeping was N16, 306, which constituted 93.68% of the total revenue. Also, the Expense Structure Ratio (ESR), Benefits Cost Ratio (BCR) Rate of Return, Gross ratio (GR) Economic Efficiency (EE) was 0.79, 2.30, 2.30, 0.69 and 2.30 respectively. All the efficiency ratios indicated that beekeeping was profitable and worth venturing. The major constraints to Beekeeping in the study area were disturbance by farmers through some farm practices such as clearing, spraying of insecticides, hunting, fetching of firewood and felling trees as well as by cattle ranchers and climate variability.