(Ecofin Agency) - Nigeria can generate more than $10 billion from selling honey and other hive products locally and internationally, according to David Musa, the Team leader for USAID Bee Keeping Pollination Project.

Speaking on the sideline of a capacity building workshop tagged “EU Third Country Listing; An Eligibility Criteria to Export Honey to the EU Market” for bee-farmers in Nasarawa State on Thursday, he said: ‘‘Honey trade can generate up to 10 billion dollars if you look at cumulative values from honey and other hive products and the value of pollination.”

Also speaking at the workshop, Mohammed Mahmud, the House Committee Chairman on Population and National identity card, disclosed that the Federal Government has, under the 2017 budget, put in place necessary provision to establish standard laboratory to test hive products for export. ‘‘I want to assure you that we will do our best to make sure that necessary legislation for the bee industry will be taken care of. Part of the problems that the industry has is trying to set up a laboratory where you can test the product that you want to export and this has been taken care of in the 2017 budget.”

Anita Fatunji