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First graduates from beekeeping and honey-processing training programme in Iraq

First graduates from beekeeping and honey-processing training programme in Iraq


Source : UNIDO

04-Jul-2019

 

 ERBIL, Twenty beneficiaries have successfully completed a training programme in beekeeping and honey-processing organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and supported by the Government of Austria.

The beneficiaries - internally displaced persons and refugees in Harshm Camp, Erbil, in northern Iraq, - received their graduation certificates and beehive tool-kits at a ceremony, which took place at the training facility next to the camp. The training will allow them to start their own small-scale honey-production businesses. The initiative supports income-generation, diversification of rural activities and fostering the self-sufficiency of displaced persons on their return to their homes.

Naqtal Faesal Rashed, who was displaced, from his hometown Nineveh in 2014 said completing the training course is a new beginning for him and his family. "I was very happy to have participated in the beekeeping and honey-processing course because I have a great desire for future beekeeping when I return to Nineveh," said the father of seven. "Beekeeping is a science, work and a hobby, in addition to the economic aspect."

Female participants in the training course, including Eman Mahmud Khalaf, Fatema Abdulla Mujbl and Enham Qahtan Fathi, all from Haman Alil, Nineveh, are proposing to set up a women's association to work together to increase the quality of future produce and the number of beehives, and thus also increase income for their families once they return to their homes.

“When we will return, thanks to the know-how acquired and the tool-kits we have received, we are very much encouraged to pursue honey production and to increase the number of beehives throughout our women's association,” said one.

Following the success of the training programme, UNIDO will replicate the initiative in the coming months. The training is part of the project, “Resilience-building through immediate livelihood and income generation for internally displaced persons, refugees, and host communities in Harshm Camp”, which focuses on youth and vulnerable people and supports technical and vocational training in agro-processing activities.

Other training subjects, among them fruit and vegetable-production in greenhouses, and the processing of fruit into marketable products such as juices and jams have been identified in the context of market needs in the region. The project is in line with 2019 Iraq Humanitarian Response Planstrategy to help people in need re-establish a livelihood, increase their income, and restore their economic self-sufficiency.