THE Beekeeping Value Chain Support (BEVAC) project has constructed six ultramodern centers to facilitate professional collection of honey products.

otThe modern facilities, each worth around £ 30,000 has been installed into difference regions with bee activities, including Katavi, Shinyanga, Singida and Tabora.

Giving an interview to the publication at the ongoing observation of this year's World Bee Day, Stephen Paul, BEVAC Project advisor said the facilities have been installed to heighten quality control of honey products among the local beekeepers.

He informed, the centers with storaging capacity of 80tons per each, are equipped will clouds -connected honey testing gadgets as well as computerized system for collecting and preserving beekeepers records.

"BEVAC has decided to construct the centers to assist local bee-farmers to collect their products at a more professional systems, the development which also assist them to lobby for better prices," he said.

He detailed, construction of the facilities saw close cooperation between BEVAC, the ministry of natural resources and tourism, as well as key stakeholders and local communities.

To improve performance of local bee-farmers, Paul said the project which receive its funds from European Union (EU) has earmarked a total of 200,000 hectares of land to be used for establishment of special beekeeping zones.

The hactares, set aside in Tanzania Mainland and Isle, will help the bee farmers to execute their activities with production and productivity.

"Apart from setting aside the vast land, the project has trained a total of 8000 beekeepers in the country,targeting to impart them with needed skills and technologies," he said.

In the same development, he said BEVAC was also implementing two  projects, which are construction of a modern dormitory for sheltering women students at the Tabora-based Beekeeping Training Institute (BTI), at a cost to £1million.

The other project, he noted, is installation of modern facilities at the Njiro International Wildlife Laboratory in Arusha region, at a cost of £200,000.

"We have decided to roll out modern honey testing and sampling facilities at the Njiro national to help local bee processors to have their products tested in the country,"

"Currently most laboratory services for testing honey  products are being conducted outside the country due to the absence of needed laboratory facilities in Tanzania, which is time consuming and expensive," he informed.

He said the project which works to improve beekeeping value chain was operating to achieve three main goals.

The first goal, according to him, is to capacitate the institutions involved in the beekeeping sector to improve their performance, through diverse training as well as distribution of modern facilities.

"The project's second goal  is majoring to empower the bee farmers through imparting them with key apiculture knowledge and skills, " he said.

And he added, under the category, BEVAC also works to roll out modern beekeeping implements to the farmers, the vision being to assist them adopting modern facilities and technologies that are necessary in improving their honey production and productivity.

To help attain this goal, he said the project has procured modern beekeeping facilities in order to open special demo-apiaries, to be used as a potential podium to train the bee farmers.