In July 1994, my wife, our three daughters and I arrived in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), in West Africa. We had been sent on a specific assignment, which was to set up and run a beekeeping project as part of the activities of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Center for International Cooperation, MASHAV.
Israel's cooperation with developing countries involves activities throughout the world in three different ways:
Courses in Israel
Based on work plans and relevant topics, MASHAV, in conjunction with professional and academic institutes, holds in-service and advanced training courses in Israel, in five languages: English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Russian. The courses are offered in agriculture, health issues, community development, education, cooperation and other subjects. Course participants spend between three weeks and five months in Israel.
Short-term on-the-spot courses
Two experts (normally) travel to the country in question, as a result of an official request channeled through Israel's representations. Over a two to four week period, courses are held on a range of subjects: agriculture, medicine, organizing cooperatives, business entrepreneurship, to name just a few. In 1999, some 140 such courses were held throughout the world.
Long-term experts
In response to an official request by a country requiring assistance, an Israeli expert comes to carry out a project involving both training activities and practical demonstrations. The expert resides in the country to which s/he has been assigned, on a day-to-day basis handling a specific topic which has been selected by the local bodies and agents. Currently, some 35 experts worldwide are working on projects involving a range of subjects.
It was for this third type of MASHAV's activities that I and my family went off to Africa, uncertain of the unknown and what the future would hold for us far from home, in a different country, with a different language and a different culture where everything would be new to us. What kind of reception would we get? How would we settle down? Would we fit in? What would be expected of me on a professional level, whom would I have to deal with? And whom am I supposed to work with, where?
Bees are naturally social insects to be found in abundance in Cote d'Ivoire's copses and thickets. Traditional beekeeping existed in Cote d'Ivoire for many years before the project started, but there was no controlled beekeeping, using standard equipment and modern methods. Rather, local beekeeping was based on "hunting" swarms and honey. A farmer identifies a swarm at the top of a tree, or in a hole inside it, and waits until dark. He then cuts down the tree, kills the bees - here again using traditional methods, utilizing plants which are poisonous to bees and insects. When the bees are dead, he removes pieces of the honeycomb together with the honey and then "produces" honey any way he can - treading, pressing, crushing and applying flame.
The product - the honey obtained - is of very low quality, in terms of taste, fragrance and texture. It contains residues and pieces of honeycomb, the remains of bees, maggots and embryonic bees. In most cases the honey is not mature, containing a high concentration of liquid which leads to fermentation.
This form of beekeeping has been responsible for a serious decline in the natural bee population. In certain locations (in northern Cote d'Ivoire), bees have practically been wiped out. This situation has brought about a problem which threatened the continuity of a sector which is important both for natural growth and for agriculture. The absence of a sufficient quantity of bees to pollinate crops led to a reduction in the yield of agricultural crops and also in the growth of natural vegetation.
The naturally occurring bee population shrank, and so too in direct proportion did the honey which the honey hunters made available for local consumption. Population growth (3.5% per annum) increased consumption, making it necessary to import honey from foreign sources, at the cost of foreign exchange. It must be remembered that some 70% of the population of Cote d'Ivoire is involved in farming and makes a living from it, either directly or indirectly. Both naturally occurring and farmed vegetation is rich in nectar-producing blossoms and is suitable for beekeeping purposes. Given these circumstances, importing honey should be unnecessary.
In 1991, MASHAV received an application for assistance in rehabilitating the honey project. Mr. Yeshayahu (Shayke) Stern, head of the Beekeeping Division of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, went to Cote d'Ivoire for an evaluation visit. In the wake of his exploratory activities and their follow-up, a team of experts arrived in 1992 to give a one-month on-the-spot course which provided instruction in basic beekeeping to some 70 farmers and extension workers.
In 1993, five instructors and participants came to Israel to attend an International Course on Advanced Breeding of Bees.
In 1993, long-term Israeli expert Ramy Levy was posted to Cote d'Ivoire.
I replaced him in 1994 and, as I have indicated, I arrived with my family for a long-term assignment. When I came to Cote d'Ivoire, I encountered the following difficulties and attitudes that slowed down my work at the beginning:
There was no extension work infrastructure whatsoever to help the small farmer and beekeeping needs.
There was no standardized equipment suitable for the needs of local beekeeping and local bees.
The quality and packaging of locally produced honey were of inferior quality and unsuitable for human consumption (in most cases).
The farmers did not believe that it is possible to breed bees ("Can you breed and control the wind?").
In many areas, particularly remote rural areas, there is a traditional, animist attitude according to which bees, and in particular bee stings, are related to forest wizards and sorcery generally.
There was no basic recognition of the nutritional, economic and other values of honey and its related products. Honey was used mainly as an additive for traditional medicines.
When I arrived, I arranged a working and introductory meeting with the management of ANADER - Cote d'Ivoire's Agence Nationale d'Appui au Developpement Rural (National Agency for Supporting Rural Development). This is a nationwide extension and training agency, through and in cooperation with which the project was run. It was set up as recently as 1994, for the first time bringing together all of Cote d'Ivoire's agricultural extension and training needs. Until then, there had been a number of different specialized institutions, each in its own field: animal husbandry, field crops, and orchards/plantations. Since ANADER was still getting organized, I had no assistance at the beginning of my work.
I submitted a work plan for developing the project, with the following main points:
Training of local extension personnel.
Providing support to practicing beekeepers from the earlier projects.
Visiting and assessing the situation of traditional beekeeping, including providing recommendations.
Setting up countrywide training centers, one in each area (north, center and south).
Defining standard beekeeping equipment.
Carrying out trials.
Preparing a seasonal work plan for local beekeeping needs.
Preparing teaching and training curricula suitable for different levels.
It was decided that the project's activities would be centered in Katiola, where the first training center would also be set up. When I turned up for my first visit, I asked to see the equipment, the structure and the apiary which the project would be using. A great deal of discarded equipment of all kinds of models and designs was lying about in a haphazard fashion. I asked to see hives and bees. I was told, "At night."
"Why at night?"
"Because the bees are bad-tempered."
"So what? Didn't I work with bad-tempered bees back in Israel?!"
It turned out that I didn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about. After donning the state-of-the-art beekegear which I had brought with me from Israel, my escort and I went off to the site, which was littered with all kinds of hives of every imaginable color.
After preparing smoke and bellows, I opened the first beehive, and within seconds thousands of bees from all the hives in the area attacked us, covering our heads (boy, were we "dressed"!) and making it impossible to see. Only by wiping the bees off our masks could we manage to see for a couple of seconds, close the hive and escape into the thickets in order to get them off us. That's what I did in Israel. So here we are, walking and walking, and the bees keep going with us (or to be precise, on us), sticking to us like ticks, refusing to go away. It took three whole hours of struggling with the thickets and the bees before we managed to get rid of most of them, and to get into the waiting vehicle.
But that wasn't the end of the nightmare. A village two kilometers from the site of the hives had to be "curfewed" for two whole days because no one could reach it and no one could leave their houses except at night. Conclusion: to this day, we only work at night, by flashlight, for the sake of our own peace of mind and the "neighbors."
When I came to the project in 1994, I had been preceded by an Israeli expert who had tried to introduce to Cote d'Ivoire the Italian bee which is known for its tranquil and peaceful temperament, its effectiveness and its industriousness. Seven beekeepers acquired some 500 Langstroth beehives and waited for the bees to be imported. The only possible sources were Australia and Hawaii. These were the only places with a disease-free Italian bee (Cote d'Ivoire is also disease-free). After long negotiations, haggling, professional and economic decision-making, and obtaining the relevant permits, 480 swarms of bees from Australia arrived (in two consignments).
The purpose of importing these swarms was two-fold: to overcome the threshold of fear in working with the bad-tempered local Adanssoni bees and
to breed swarms and queens from the imported Italian species, thereby creating a new, quieter and more efficient variety.
The problems we encountered during the preparatory phase were negligible compared with the subsequent sufferings and problems of acclimatization.
Over a four-week period after the bees' arrival, most of the swarms managed to escape, abandoning the beehives. Those which "refused" to escape were visited by the local bees which forced them to flee, stealing their food supply and driving them out of the beehive. This was a painful drama which was played out before our very eyes: it was horrible to come to the site of the hives and witness clouds of imported bees flying around wildly, in great confusion, and clouds of local bees busy stealing the remnants of food in the hive.
At the end of this painful process, there was a meeting of the beekeepers. I was overcome by despair. To my surprise, I received encouragement from the beekeepers, whose basic motto was, "He who despairs at one failure will never succeed." In other words, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
In discussions between the professionals in Israel and Cote d'Ivoire, it was decided to continue the project with the local bees, despite their shortcomings. Working in a painstaking, intensive fashion, and developing working methods adapted to local requirements, after five years of effort we have achieved the following results for the project:
We have trained 750 beekeepers, of whom 250 are active in the field, with a total of some 1,500 populated beehives. Last year we produced some 26 tons of honey.
Some 60 regional extension workers have been trained. They act as instructors in all areas of beekeeping, providing support and on-the-spot training to beekeepers.
We have set up a first national training center at Katiola. The center is equipped with most of the instructional and operational facilities needed.
A second center has been set up at Kossuo, in the center of the country, which started operations in March 2000. Standard equipment has been provided for the time being, while local needs are being examined.
Appropriate work sheets and training booklets have been prepared for local beekeeping needs.
Awareness has been spread as to the possibilities of beekeeping for private economic benefit, in both rural settings and for the economy of Cote d'Ivoire.
We have managed to get the traditional farming sector to recognize the advantages of modern beekeeping over traditional methods.
We have increased the average yield of honey per beehive to 20-25 kg per year.
We have carried out trials into the interaction between bees and coffee plantations (Cote d'Ivoire has some 110,000 hectares of coffee fields).
A national organization of honey traders (ANACI) has been set up.
Every activity which we started has involved a great deal of work and thought.
As the project's activities were undertaken, we were visited by people from MASHAV and were evaluated from the Israeli end, and experts came to see us in order to advance the project and improve things.
In 1995 and 1997, we had two evaluation visits, by Shayke Stern, the head of the Beekeeping Division.
In 1998, we had a visit by Dan Ben-Eliezer, the MASHAV projects director, Rivka Cohen, the MASHAV budgeting director, and Zvi Herman, CINADCO director.
In 1998 and 1999 there were two on-the-spot courses on beekeeping (an additional course will be held this year).
In 1997, two in-service trainees attended the international training course in beekeeping at CINADCO's Training Center at Kibbutz Shefayim.
In 1999, we were visited by a review and planning delegation: Shayke Stern and Dr. Peretz Ram.
Apart from the professional activities of the project, we also carried out a range of information activities in order to promote beekeeping in Cote d'Ivoire.
We gave seminars in different parts of the country for the farming and other target populations.
We took part in a large number of economic and agricultural exhibitions.
We issued professional leaflets with explanations and work procedures.
We gave lectures and provided explanations wherever we were invited to do so.
The project's activities were wide-ranging, and so are its achievements. Today it is possible to breed bees in Cote d'Ivoire. People know how to do this, and they are doing it. However, this is not enough. So far, the project's activities have concentrated on something like eight activity "clusters." We are now working together with MASHAV on the submission of a five-year plan which will encourage the dissemination of beekeeping throughout the entire country. This plan will be backed up by an economic budget tailored to the credit needs of farmers who need financing. Credit is the key problem currently facing the project.
Now a few secondary reasons why bees should and could be bred:
Employment for the entire family in rural areas.
By providing work, beekeeping in the farming sector encourages people to stay in rural areas and not move to the cities.
Agricultural activity which does not consume resources (water, land, etc.).
No need for extended professional training (also suitable for uneducated people).
Fast return on investment.
Low level of investment compared with other agricultural sectors.
Beekeeping makes a contribution to the struggle to preserve the environment (in villages with beehives, villagers do not set fires to clear land).
Beekeeping activities can be handled in addition to and in the vicinity of other farming activities.
The above reasons also apply to other developing countries, and lessons should be drawn from the Cote d'Ivoire project.
The project has managed to achieve most of the goals which we set for it at the outset. Now, approaching the end of the first phase (at the end of the year 2000), with the conclusion of MASHAV's activities, we are working all-out to bring about conditions which will enable the project to continue independently, to assure its sustainability when I go home. My family preceded me home and I will return to Israel in the summer (2000). Given the people involved, I have every reason to believe that future developmwill be positive. My work so far has given me a great deal of personal and professional satisfaction. I have got to know and learned to love new people, a new culture and a new life, and I would like to express my appreciation to everybody who has helped me work on the project.
Mondo Basmat adds:
In the course of my work, in 1996, a fellow called Dr. Ouattara Modibo came to see me. He was a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy, and he asked me to act as supervisor for the PhD which he intended to undertake on pharmaceuticals and honey products, and he explained to me: You are my last chance.
I was rather taken aback. It seemed to me unlikely that a white-coated pharmacist would be able to cope with the nitty-gritty of beekeeping, which requires a not inconsiderable physical effort, not always in the conditions of cleanliness and orderliness which are the standard in pharmacy.
The researcher's determination and devotion to his goal also swept me along and in December 1999 he received the degree of PhD summa cum laude. Being able to sit on the board of examiners and the compliments received by his work were honey-sweet to me.
Beekeeping and Galenic Formulation of Medicine in the Cote d'Ivoire:
Israeli Cooperation's Contribution
by Dr. Ouattara Modibo
Pharmacist - Apitherapy Specialist
In the tradition of the Senoufo, the tribe from the north of the Cote d'Ivoire to which I belong, the presence of honey in a house protects it against lightning. Honey is a real lightning conductor, and the bee is a sacred insect.
I do not know whether my interest in honey stems from this belief with which I was reared, but the fact of the matter is that when I finished my studies at the Abidjan Faculty of Pharmacy, I decided to undertake research into the local honey. My passion for the subject was particularly heightened by the fact that this honey-based topic had never been previously investigated at the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Science, or the Faculty of Pharmacy.
When I started my work, I ran into a number of problems, particularly:
Lack of data about local beekeeping (an informal, traditional sector)
There was no one suitable with whom I could cooperate in carrying out methodical research
I had little personal knowledge.
It was obvious that my research was well and truly stalled. It was at this point that I met Mr. Mondo Basmat, an Israeli MASHAV consultant who had been seconded to the National Beekeeping Project. And then things started to take shape.
In the framework of this program, I have been able to take a number of beekeeping training courses as well as advanced training provided by experts from Israel (Haim Efrat, a specialist in breeding queens). I have also been able to take advantage of the Beekeeping Project in studying the characteristics of local bees and collecting samples of honey.
The subject of my PhD thesis is: "Developing Côte d'Ivoire Honey: Production techniques, physico-chemical analysis and application to trials for formulating a mellitum oxymel with anti-malarial activity." The results obtained show the therapeutic advantages which can be obtained from honey for treating malaria. This disease is a parasitic ailment which is endemic in the Cote d'Ivoire and in all countries of tropical Africa. Malaria is responsible for millions of deaths, especially among children, from newborn to four years old. It leads to anemia, fever, asthenia and many other disorders. In fact, in my country malaria is just as much a mass killer as AIDS.
The ultimate goal of our work was to formulate an anti-malarial drug which would be effective, cost-effective and have minimum side-effects. Our study proves that the combination of honey with a synthetic anti-malarial substance such as chloroquine promotes the absorption of this active constituent and increases its bioavailability. Moreover, honey is a veritable storehouse of energy, vitamins and trace elements which relieves digestive disorders, corrects anemia and fights the asthenia associated with malaria.
The crucial stage of this study was the selecting of samples of honey to be used for the formulation. By applying the standards of the Codex Alimentarious (FAO-WHO) and the Galenic Pharmacy, we were able to obtain a sample produced in accordance with modern beekeeping techniques as disseminated by Israeli cooperation, rather than samples produced on the basic of traditional and archaic methods.
In conclusion, Israeli cooperation made a decisive contribution to the successful undertaking of my doctoral research leading to the granting of my PhD in pharmacy.