GULU, November 3, 2025 — The Gulu District Entomology Officer, Alphonse Acaye, has urged bee farmers in the district to take advantage of the lucrative bee venom market.
Bee venom is a colourless, acidic liquid that bees release through their stingers when they feel threatened. According to Acaye, bee venom is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture medicines.
Citing Healthline, an online medical resource, Acaye noted that research suggests bee venom may offer a wide range of health benefits, from reducing inflammation to potentially treating chronic conditions such as arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. However, researchers also caution that more controlled trials are needed to confirm its therapeutic effectiveness.
Acaye observed that most local bee farmers currently focus only on honey production, neglecting the more profitable opportunity in bee venom extraction.
“Originally, our farmers viewed honey as the only product that could bring them income or food benefits. But we have realised that honey is actually the cheapest product from bees. The most valuable products are still untapped, and one of them is bee venom,” Acaye said.
He revealed that a gram of bee venom costs Shs 100,000 at the farm gate, while exporters sell the same quantity for about US$ 250 [approximately Shs 875,000]. In contrast, a kilogramme of raw honey fetches between Shs 10,000 and Shs 14,000.
Acaye added that the district recently procured a solar-powered bee venom extractor worth Shs 5,000,000 to make it available to farmers, and that plans are underway to train them in venom extraction techniques.
Justin Ouma, a bee farmer in Paicho Sub-county, Gulu district, described bee venom as far more profitable than honey.
“Once you start harvesting bee venom, honey becomes a supplementary source of income because the earnings from venom are much higher. The only challenge is that harvesting is not easy, you need proper training,” Ouma said.
He added that labour is also a challenge since many people fear working with bees.
“I trained one worker in my apiary to extract bee venom, and he was doing quite well. But he later found another job, which put my bee venom operations on hold,” Ouma explained, adding that he used to sell his venom locally at Shs 50,000 per gram.
Meanwhile, Joyce Akidi, Chairperson of Mon Aye Guti Cooperative Society Limited, said the cooperative plans to start extracting bee venom as an additional source of income.
“We don’t yet have the skills to extract bee venom, but we intend to start next year because our earnings from honey have dropped significantly due to poor harvests,” she said.
Acaye said the district plans to train more farmers by increasing the number of skilled extension workers.
“The current challenge is that we only have three extension workers trained in apiary management. We are recruiting three more to improve farmers’ access to training,” he noted.
He expressed optimism that if more organised farmer groups embrace bee venom production, it could attract large-scale buyers.
Bee venom extraction process
According to Acaye, harvesting bee venom is safe when done correctly.
“You must wear protective gear before placing the extractor near a hive. The extractor is powered by electricity, solar, or battery,” he explained.
The glass plate on the extractor contains electrified wires that lightly shock the bees when they land on it.
“The bees react by stinging the glass, releasing venom. The venom starts as a liquid but solidifies once it lands on the glass. This secretion triggers other bees to do the same. The process takes about 20 minutes before the bees get tired and fly away,” Acaye said.
After harvesting, the bee venom can be carefully scraped off the glass and stored in a thermos to maintain its quality.
https://thecooperator.news/young-bee-farmers-form-cooperative-to-boost-honey-business/
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