Adoption and impacts of improved beehive technologies in the miombo woodland of Tanzania

Abstract

This paper analyzes the adoption and impacts of improved beehives on households’ income using cross-sectional data sourced from a sample of 198 beekeepers in western Tanzania who adopted improved beehives. Propensity score matching and the endogenous switching regression model are used to assess the adoption and impacts. Results show that the adoption of improved beehives resulted in significant increase in beekeepers’ income. An analysis of the determinants of adoption revealed age of the household head, years of formal schooling, access to credit, access to extension services, training and experience in beekeeping as key factors influencing the adoption. There is a need to promote the use of improved beehives so as to enhance productivity and boost income among small-scale beekeepers. Efforts to improve access to and use of improved beehives technologies should be part and parcel of income poverty reduction strategies in the study areas where beekeeping is a key livelihood activity but adoption is low. Policies that enhance the diffusion and adoption of improved beehives should be central to income poverty reduction strategies in Tanzania.