HIGH WYCOMBE, United Kingdom — The World Bank continues to highlight Zambia as one of the world’s most impoverished countries, with 60% of its population living in poverty. The divide between rural and urban communities is especially stark. In rural areas, 78.8% of people live below the poverty line, compared to 31.9% of people in urban centers. For many rural households, farming has been the primary source of income, leaving families vulnerable to drought and climate shocks. Over the past 25 years, however, one industry has been quietly creating a more reliable source of income for thousands of rural Zambians: forest honey farming. Supported by conservation efforts and growing international demand, honey production has become an increasingly important tool for reducing rural poverty in Zambia.
Why Honey Matters in Rural Zambia
Zambia’s miombo woodlands provide one of Africa’s richest habitats for honeybees. Organizations like the Zambia Rainbow Development Fund (ZRDF) have identified a diverse range of nectar and pollen-producing trees that can support healthy bee colonies throughout the year. Unlike agriculture, which depends on rainfall, the presence of honeybees has allowed many households to generate a more stable annual income. To strengthen this ecosystem, the ZRDF has planted trees in local communities and schools, each of which will provide a future food source for bees, helping secure long-term honey production and sustainable livelihoods.
Forest honey in Zambia is particularly important in rural communities where poverty is prevalent, as it requires very little start-up capital and is accessible for households that cannot afford expensive farming equipment. The ZRDF has further reduced financial barriers by providing beekeepers with equipment, technical training, processing services and access to buyers. This removes a key challenge for small-scale producers in rural communities: access to reliable markets.
The honey has created a low-cost, environmentally sustainable livelihood that allows families to earn income beyond, or alongside, traditional farming. Honey is a dependable safety net outside of agriculture, which still supports around 80% of Zambia’s rural population. It also does not remain vulnerable to extreme weather events like agriculture does, the impact of which can be seen in the country’s severe 2024 drought.
Honey is Becoming an Export Industry
As local production has expanded, Zambia’s honey industry has become an important export sector, increasing not only the income of rural people but also the national economy. Honey production has doubled from 5,000 metric tons in 2023 to 10,000 metric tons in 2024. Industry estimates suggest that Zambia could eventually produce as much as 20,000 metric tons annually, generating more than $5 million in export revenue.
International demand has grown steadily for forest honey. Zambia has secured access to the European Union market for organic honey, and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment is working alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to strengthen the quality and food safety standards to meet international requirements. In 2024, Zambia exported honey valued at $4.03 million, with major buyers including Namibia, South Africa, the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom.
How Honey Helps to Reduce Poverty
Research shows that reliable honey markets not only increase household income, but they also enable families to invest more in education, livestock, farming equipment, bicycles and small business ventures that can generate additional income. Beekeepers have described honey as the “mother of other activities” because it provides the initial capital needed to invest in other opportunities.
Beekeepers in Kalwisha reported using honey income to build homes, purchase iron roofing sheets, educate their children and buy clothing. One man from Kaloza explained that he had previously relied on maize farming before noticing that the beekeepers appeared to be more financially secure.
“They had money, were paying school fees, had good businesses and were building good houses.” Another beekeeper from Kasochi said that he chose beekeeping after seeing the improved living standards of neighboring producers. “They sleep well, they eat well and they move well.”
Indeed, forest honey in Zambia not only improves income, but it provides food security for rural communities. Beginning in 2021, beekeeper Lillian Manjimela received modern beehives, protective clothing and forest honey processing equipment through a partnership between Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture and a coalition of United Nations (UN) agencies including United Nations Development Program (UNDP), funded by the Green Climate Fund. In one season, she harvested 120 liters of honey, and this provided food security during drought season and allowed her to trade surplus honey for maize.
These accounts illustrate how forest honey in Zambia can create a cycle of investment, allowing households to meet their daily needs and build additional assets to lift themselves out of poverty.
What Still Needs to Improve?
Despite its success, forest honey in Zambia depends on the long-term protection of the miombo woodland.
The country’s 2015 Forest Act continues to permit forests to be cleared for other land uses like agriculture. In many cases, forest conversion carried out for local community benefit does not require licensing, something which has limited the Forest Department’s ability to regulate land usage. As a result, the same forests that support Zambia’s growing honey industry remain vulnerable to deforestation.
Strengthening forest protection and increasing market access for small-scale producers will be essential if forest honey is to remain a long-term driver of poverty reduction in rural Zambia.
– Amber Bannon
Amber is based in High Wycombe and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr