Mr Hayford Yao Dometi, Founder of Effort Bee-keepers Association in the South Dayi District has called on the youth to engage in bee-keeping as a business to enhance their self-sufficiency.

He said bee-keeping was a lucrative business, which generated lots of income within a short period of time, a venture the youth could excel in.

Mr Dometi was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Tongor-Dzemeni in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region during a one-day training workshop for members of the Association and new entrants.

He said the training aimed at broadening the scope of knowledge and skills, capacity building of members of the Association on the dwindling bee population resulting from the use of agrochemicals and how to keep themselves in the business of apiculture.

It was also to provide adequate training for new entrants and equip them with the requisite skills on best practices of bee-keeping and how to produce more honey to maximise profits.

Mr Dometi said the country's numerous vegetation cover had a lot of nectariferous trees for bees
to feed on, and provided a great opportunity for the youth to enter into the business to transform their lives and accelerate socio-economic growth.

He said the unemployment situation in the country could reduce drastically if the youth were willing to venture into apiculture tapping into bee rearing skills taking advantage of the country's vast arable land for bee production and other agricultural activities.

Mr Andrews Agbemavor Kpeli, a participant, speaking to the GNA, commended the organisers of the workshop, saying he had acquired much knowledge during the training and would put them to good use.

He said he would also share with friends and families skills acquired at the training to encourage them to go into the apiary business as it would put them on a sound footing and reduce poverty.

Mr Kpeli who is also a retired educationist said the youth had to be educated to know that "it is not about white color jobs, but what you can do on your own to become self-reliant" and advised the citizenry, especially the youth to go into agriculture to transform their lives.

Mr Wisdom Agbenorxe, another participant described the training as helpful, saying it had enlightened him more on the occupation and the numerous benefits it entailed, and expressed gratitude to the event organisers.

The participants were taken through apiary and beehive preparation, beehive, catcher box and top-bar settings, scouting, baiting, transfer of colony, honey processing and packaging among others.