This manual is a visual, practical document on good beekeeping practices for sustainable small-scale beekeepers in Africa. It has been designed to serve as a beekeeping training tool and is a concise, practical reference document. The manual opens with an illustrated story of the damaging effect of certain practices adopted when collecting wild honey (honey hunting) and aims to spark interest among readers on how to harvest honey more sustainably. The second section presents the reader with the main beekeeping equipment and explains how the tools can be used to keep healthy bees and harvest quality honey. It ends with an overview of good beekeeping practices that will help the beekeeper produce good honey in a sustainable manner.

Rather than recommend a specific type of hive, the manual provides necessary information that will help beekeepers determine which type is best suited to their local conditions. The many illustrations included in the manual aim to help beekeepers make their own versions of the equipment that are tailored to local needs.

This manual was developed by the Animal Production and Genetics Branch (NSAG) of the FAO in collaboration with the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana (Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lazio and Tuscany – IZSLT) and the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations (Apimondia).