Challenges and opportunities of beekeeping in supporting coastal community livelihood in Tanzania: the case of Mafia Island in Coastal region

The aim of the study was to assess the challenges and opportunities of beekeeping on improving local livelihood in Mafia Island in the Coastal Region, Kirongwe and Kanga were selected to be the study areas simply because are the areas which having a greater number of beekeepers and existence of conducive environment for beekeeping. The study employed focus group discussion, key informant interview, literature review, participant observation and transect walk for data collection. The statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and content analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The study revealed the hindering factors for beekeeping in coastal area were climatic changes, lack of enough capital and supports from stakeholders, presence of pests and predators, high prices of equipment used in beekeeping activities, negative attitude about beekeeping projects, poor facilities used for beekeeping as well as inadequate education to beekeepers. The study also found that beekeeping as one of economic activity in the coastal areas has contributed to household income, food and nutrition, medicine, facilitated education and building houses. Also it was found that, there are different opportunities that favor beekeeping in the study area including; presence of bee habitats, beekeeping groups, dams and bee projects, coastal forests and mangroves, increasing household income and availability of market for bee products. The study recommended that, the Government should create good environment for beekeeping activities in the Coastal area, also empowering the community in terms of credit and technical support.