Nigerian Amaete Umanah Creates Beehive App that Will Boost Honey Production
Amaete Umanah a Nigerian entrepreneur has created a monitoring system with his company, Honeyflow Africa that allows beekeepers to monitor their hives.
Honeyflow Africa system comprises of a battery of sensors which gives necessary information to a smartphone app that allows the beekeeper to monitor their hives even if they are far away.
A device installed inside the hive monitors temperature and humidity to ensure that optimal conditions are contained. The device captures sound, which is analyzed with artificial intelligence software to detect the behavioral patterns of the bee colony, such as preparation for departure.
Umanah had carried out a research to know the challenges the beekeepers face. The beekeepers had mentioned that one of their biggest challenges is the bee leaving the hive and the reason why the bees leave the hive is unknown to them.
Through his research he found out various reasons why bees leave their hives, such as lack of space or water, or too much noise and an early warning system allows beekeepers to take preventive measures.
According to the officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Development, Nigerian Export Promotion Council and apiculture (beekeeping) experts, Nigeria consumes about 400,000 tonnes of honey annually but produces less than 10 percent of its total consumption. This means that the importation of honey in Nigeria is high. Amaete hopes and have faith that the initiative can restructure the Nigerian honey industry.
Experts in the field of beekeeping trust that Nigeria’s honey industry has the possibility to grow, as honey is the most popular natural sweetener in the world and the global trade in bee products is on the increase. Due to the constant use of honey, the worldwide consumption of honey is so huge that supply can barely cope with demand.
Umanah believes that the initiative would help to save the country’s proceeds, save users’ time and labor by enabling target interventions and also boosting their earnings. It will also create an opportunity for Nigeria to tap into the honey industry and other bee products.
