Ghana will hold her maiden Honey Festival to mark the 2021 International Bee Day Celebration on Thursday, 20th May 2021.

The festival will take place at the premises of CSIR Forestry Research Institute, Fumesua near Ejisu in Kumasi. It will be on the theme: “A Spotlight on Pollinators, Beekeeping, and Honey Safety for Sustainable Livelihoods and Biodiversity Conservation.”

Honey usage has risen in recent years as a result of consumer demand for high-quality natural sweeteners to replace sugar. As a result, honey has become one of the most adulterated food products on the world market, as traders try to meet the enormous demand for their gain. This has raised a lot of concerns by the consumers on the adulteration of honey in the markets.

In view of this, the Honey Festival seeks to discuss the role of bees to human sustenance, honey quality and safety, sensory analysis of honey, among others.

Speaking in an interview, Dr Courage Besah-Adanu said the main objective of the festival is to create a common platform for honey producers and other stakeholders to share knowledge and innovation for the growth of the industry. He also mentioned that all honey does not have the same colour, taste or smell to determine its adulteration.

“The festival seeks to provide the largest networking platform for stakeholders in the industry; and to use the United Nation’s Bee Day to help players in the industry to deliberately discuss the role bees and other pollinators play in contributing to human sustenance.”
Dr Courage Besah-Adanu, CSIR Research Scientist.

According to him, honey consumers should take advantage of the festival to educate themselves on the quality of honey. He emphasized the need for such a festival to generate the necessary energy to propel the industry forward. In effect, benefiting growers, processors, and customers looking for unique honey to consume. Dr Courage Besah-Adanu is a Research Scientist at CSIR and the Coordinator of Ghana National Apiculture Platform (GHANAP).

The World Bee Day Celebration

With efforts of the Slovenian government and supports from Apimondia, the UN General Assembly designated 20th May as World Bee Day. The date for this observance was chosen as it was the day Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern apiculture, was born. Janša came from a family of beekeepers in Slovenia, where beekeeping is an important agricultural activity with a long-standing tradition. The first observance of World Bee Day was in 2018.

The World Bee Day seeks to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators. Consequently, this would contribute significantly to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.

This year’s World Bee Day will be celebrated with a virtual event organized by the FAO under the theme “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.