Introducing Kenya’s future Honey Producers and Rangeland Ecosystems Managers

As the world’s most important group of pollinators, bees are a crucial part of agricultural production and natural ecosystem function. They contribute immensely to food security through pollination services; provide mankind with hive products of many economic benefits

Land resource management students with their supervisor, Dr Oscar Koech (Right).

Ecosystems exist as complex socio-ecological systems. There is constant intervention by society through management, resource use and pollution. Due to this, ecosystem management and conservation is key to Biodiversity conservation.

As the world’s most important group of pollinators, bees are a crucial part of agricultural production and natural ecosystem function. They contribute immensely to food security through pollination services; provide mankind with hive products of many economic benefits.

To sustain this, the future depends on upcoming experts and the University of Nairobi is committed to the call through providing quality graduates with the much needed societal skills. Six students from the Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology (LARMAT) and the Department of Animal Production were assigned to undertake their industrial training at the National Bee Keeping Institute, Lenana.

These management interventions may provide multiple co-benefits for other ecosystem services but more information is needed on where these interractions occur in order to realize these benefits. As such, the students will be trained to become future experts whose contribution to ecosystem conservation will be vital.