{"id":19447,"date":"2025-10-09T12:40:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africasustainabilitymatters.com\/?p=19447"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:32:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:32:03","slug":"tanzania-loses-hosting-rights-for-global-beekeeping-congress-a-setback-for-africas-apiculture-ambitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/2025\/10\/09\/tanzania-loses-hosting-rights-for-global-beekeeping-congress-a-setback-for-africas-apiculture-ambitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Tanzania loses hosting rights for global beekeeping congress; a setback for Africa\u2019s apiculture ambitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tanzania has lost the hosting rights for the 50th International Apicultural Congress<\/a> (Apimondia 2027), a global event that was expected to transform the country\u2019s apiculture industry and inject millions into its economy. The congress, originally scheduled for September 20\u201325, 2027 in Arusha, will now be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following an inspection by Apimondia\u2019s Executive Council that deemed Tanzania\u2019s facilities unfit to accommodate the projected 7,000 delegates.<\/p>\n

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Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers\u2019 Associations, brings together scientists, honey producers, traders, and policymakers from around the world every two years to advance scientific and sustainable practices in beekeeping. Tanzania had triumphantly secured hosting rights at the 2023 congress in Chile, beating the UAE in the final bid, a symbolic victory that was set to mark Africa\u2019s return to the global apiculture stage after nearly three decades since South Africa hosted in 2001.<\/p>\n

The reversal has left a deep sense of disappointment across Africa\u2019s beekeeping community. Apimondia President Dr. Jeff Pettis confirmed that while the 2023 Letter of Agreement with Tanzania had been binding, it required the host country to demonstrate readiness by mid-2025. \u201cAfter thorough evaluation, it was concluded that Tanzania could not meet the objectives, and the 2027 congress will be hosted by the UAE Beekeepers\u2019 Foundation, the runner-up in the 2023 election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Apimondia\u2019s Africa Regional Committee President, David Mukomana, expressed regret at the outcome, calling it a lost moment for the continent. \u201cIt was a rare chance for Africa to host a major global event of this scale,\u201d he said. \u201cObservers are asking how such a landmark congress could shift from one of the world\u2019s most biodiverse forest regions in East Africa to the arid deserts of the UAE.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The disappointment is especially sharp in Arusha, a city that had already begun preparing to welcome thousands of global delegates. In anticipation of the congress, local authorities, led by former mayor Maximilian Iraghe and the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS), had mobilized a youth-driven beekeeping initiative that established over two million beehives across northern Tanzania, engaging nearly 120,000 young people. These hives were to serve as training and demonstration hubs for visiting experts, with the congress poised to showcase Tanzania\u2019s growing apiculture capacity and youth entrepreneurship model.<\/p>\n

The broader ambition behind hosting Apimondia 2027 went far beyond prestige. Tanzania had planned to use the event as a platform to position itself as Africa\u2019s centre for sustainable beekeeping and to launch a \u201cyouth-in-apiculture\u201d agenda that could tie into climate resilience and green enterprise. Beekeeping, which supports livelihoods for thousands of smallholder farmers, has become an integral part of the country\u2019s forest conservation and community development strategies.<\/p>\n

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According to official data, Tanzania is home to about 9.2 million bee colonies, making it one of Africa\u2019s most bee-rich ecosystems<\/a> and the second-largest honey producer on the continent after Ethiopia. The country produces around 35,000 tonnes of honey each year, but experts estimate it could reach as high as 135,000 tonnes if production were fully optimized. TFS manages 20 protected bee reserves covering 39,444 hectares, providing vital habitat for wild pollinators and supporting biodiversity critical to forestry and agriculture alike.<\/p>\n

The economic potential is substantial. Global demand for organic honey and beeswax continues to rise, driven by the shift toward natural food and cosmetic products. Africa, which accounts for roughly 15% of the world\u2019s honey production, remains an underexploited frontier for sustainable apiculture. Tanzania\u2019s honey exports, though small compared to its potential, are increasingly gaining recognition in regional markets such as Kenya and the Gulf States. A successful hosting of Apimondia would have catalyzed international investment, linked Tanzanian producers with premium buyers, and placed East Africa on the global map for eco-based trade and biodiversity-linked economies.<\/p>\n

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Local stakeholders view the relocation as a wake-up call on infrastructure preparedness and event management. \u201cHosting Apimondia 2027 would have solidified Tanzania\u2019s place in the global beekeeping community and showcased our potential as an investment destination,\u201d said Arusha-based beekeeper and industry advocate Emmanuel Mgimwa. \u201cThe government must take these lessons seriously and ensure future bids are matched by timely, tangible readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, experts argue that Tanzania\u2019s apiculture sector remains an untapped economic frontier, one aligned with climate resilience, rural employment, and environmental sustainability. Beekeeping offers a rare intersection where green livelihoods meet biodiversity protection: each hive not only produces honey but also enhances crop pollination and forest regeneration, creating a natural climate buffer. Across East Africa, similar initiatives are emerging; in Kenya\u2019s Baringo and Kitui counties, community beekeeping cooperatives are restoring degraded landscapes while improving household incomes.<\/p>\n

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For Tanzania, the loss of Apimondia 2027 is more than a missed event, it is a reminder that global competitiveness in sustainability sectors now hinges on infrastructure, policy coordination, and long-term planning. Yet the foundations remain strong. With its vast forest cover, rich flora, and growing youth engagement, Tanzania retains one of the most promising apiculture sectors on the continent. The challenge will be to translate that biological wealth into structured economic opportunity and to ensure that Africa\u2019s next bid for global hosting rights reflects the readiness and ambition the continent\u2019s beekeepers have long demonstrated in the field.<\/p>\n

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Tanzania has lost the hosting rights for the 50th International Apicultural Congress (Apimondia 2027), a global event that was expected to transform the country\u2019s apiculture industry and inject millions into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[81,94,104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-events","category-news-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}