Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping in Rwanda

Click here to see the team's blog posts!

Apiculture is promoted as an important sustainable income diversification enterprise that complements crop and livestock farming in Rwanda. Rwanda is among the largest producer of honey in Africa and yet its production remains limited primarily due to limited information, resources, and practices. 

The Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), Department of Animal Resources Innovation and Technology Transfer has established a national beekeeping program with the aim of promoting sustainable beekeeping practices to smallholder farmers. Building on a January 2023 pilot study that assessed information networks for beekeepers in eastern Rwanda, and a recent value chain assessment that further suggests that beekeeping practices and adoption of modern technologies are slowed by limited access to knowledge, this year’s project team needs to collect information that empirically informs the development of farmer field schools and resources.

The SMART Challenge

Design and conduct a multidisciplinary empirical study that will assist RAB in establishing: (I) a Rwanda beekeeping model, (2) a pilot apiculture farmer field school (FFS) that can be scaled nationally.  To achieve this, the team will need to:

1. Survey and model information networks of beekeepers in south Rwanda, to identify               prominent farmers who could be trained as FFS community facilitators.

2. Identify and evaluate existing beekeeping training materials currently distributed and            promoted by various stakeholders.

3. Develop a Rwanda beekeeping model (beekeeping vs bee hunting) – how is beekeeping     practices (how does it compare to other East African countries)

2023-2024 SMART Fellows

Rajat Acharjee

Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics and Management, Charles Dyson School of Applied Economics

Project: Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping in Rwanda

Rajat is a sophomore in Applied Economics & Management with a concentration in International Trade and Development. He is interested in data and international consulting on emerging markets. This past summer, he worked in political consulting at TAG and in mortgage advising at Wells Fargo consulting client purchases. Rajat has been solving issues of redlining and educational injustices in New York City and continues to work Department of Education to eliminate barriers in education for low-income and diverse students. At Cornell, he is involved in the KKR Accelerator Program and is also a Dyson Diversity Scholar. 

Molly Corley

Master of Public Administration, Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy

Project: Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping in Rwanda 

Molly is a graduate student in the Master of Public Administration program concentrating in Environmental Policy with a focus on sustainable land management. Originally from the agricultural town of Lebanon, Tennesse, Molly believes in equitable policies for farmers. Her family owns a small farm that continues to grow crops and maintains a herd of 40 dairy cows. Molly is an Army Veteran with 5 years experience leading people and managing projects. As a Captain, she earned skills in risk management, resource allocation, and translating information into action. She is excited for the opportunity to work with the Rwandan Agriculture and Animal Resource Board (RAB) and farmers during her SMART program tenure.

Bohua Duan

Master of Science in Applied Economics and Management, Charles Dyson School of Applied Economics

Project: Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping in Rwanda 

Bohua is a first-year Masters student of Applied Economics and Management. Originally from China, Bohua is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a double major in economics and mathematics. At Wesleyan, Bohua worked as a research assistant for multiple projects in development economics, through which he became proficient in Stata and ArcGIS. He also had internship experiences in an NGO in international infrastructure investment and financial institutions in commercial banking and insurance. Bohua's current research interest is in agricultural economics and the futures market. Bohua is passionate about using his knowledge to promote regional development and improve people’s welfare. Bohua is looking forward to a career in international development banks after Cornell.

Yuhan Zhong

Master of Professional Studies in Management, SC Johnson College of Business

Project: Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping in Rwanda

Yuhan is a graduate student in Management with an Accounting Specialization at the SC Johnson College of Business. She has diverse experience spanning academic institutions and top-tier financial corporations. At the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, she showcased her analytical capabilities by delving into extensive literature in resource-based views, enterprise development, and corporate governance. Her internship experience at UBS Securities furthered her skills in business strategy and industry analysis. Beyond her research abilities, Yuhan is skilled in various programming and analytical tools such as Python and Stata. Her proficiency with these tools underscores her ability to transform raw data into insightful visualizations and reports.

Project Lead and Faculty Advisors

Dr. Fridah Mubichi-Kut

Professor of Practice, Executive Director SMART (Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams), Applied Economics and Policy, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

Fridah is the executive director of the Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) Program and Professor of Practice in Applied Economics and Management at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University. Perplexed by the paradox of the hungry farmer, her research is focused on understanding the role economic development policies, social networks, information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in the promotion of new agricultural innovations. Fridah values and understands the responsibility multidisciplinary teams have in solving complex problems and developing sustainable solutions. Trained first as an international business administrator and later social scientist, she has taught, worked, and supported various organizations and projects internationally. Most recently, she worked as director of monitoring and evaluation within a USDA agricultural commodity research program and previously a social scientist within two USAID- Feed the Future innovation projects. Fridah holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Missouri Division of Applied Social sciences.  

David Sossa

Technician IV, McArt Lab Department of Entomology, Cornell University

David is an expert beekeeper with a Master’s degree in beekeeping from Cornell University. As a researcher and beekeeper enthusiast, he is highly knowledgeable and interested in honeybee and bumble bee management in field and laboratory settings. As a lab technician, he is involved in sample extractions and preparations for pesticide residue analysis; data collection from agricultural fields; bee sampling and dissections; DNA extraction, and PCRs among other tasks. Likewise, he is knowledgeable in pollinator research activities such as grafting, queen rearing, pest and pathogen control, and pathogen inoculation. As a lab manager, he is responsible for maintaining the Mc-Art beekeeping warehouse as well as implementing and overseeing field and laboratory safety protocols. David is originally from Colombia, where he worked with Africanized bees.​

Field Dates: Jan 7-16, 2024  
Field Location: Kigali, Huye, Rwanda