By Kudakwashe Tirivavi
ZIMBABWE HAS stepped up efforts to strengthen compliance systems in the honey value chain following the rollout of Training of Trainers under the Zimbabwe Bee for Empowerment and Export Project (ZIMBEE), as the country advances preparations to access regulated export markets.
The programme, implemented by ZimTrade across Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Matabeleland North provinces, forms part of a coordinated national effort to improve food safety controls, strengthen traceability systems and build institutional capacity to support honey exports.
The intervention is designed to support Zimbabwe’s progress towards honey allowlisting, also known as whitelisting, a process required by some international markets before products can qualify for export.
Market access increasingly depends on a country’s ability to demonstrate effective systems for quality assurance, residue monitoring and regulatory oversight across the value chain.
Training focused on building a pool of technical officers capable of supporting producers and businesses at district and community level.
Participants were drawn from public institutions including the Department of Veterinary Services, agricultural extension services and forestry-related structures.
The officers received training to strengthen their capacity to guide beekeepers, aggregators and processors on issues such as quality production practices, traceability, sampling procedures, residue monitoring and official compliance controls.
The approach recognises that export readiness depends on more than increasing production volumes. International markets require assurance that products meet established standards throughout the production and supply process.
This places greater emphasis on coordinated systems that link production, monitoring, testing and regulatory supervision.
For Zimbabwe’s honey sector, this includes strengthening the ability to prevent contamination, monitor chemical and veterinary residues, maintain production records and respond effectively to technical requirements from importing authorities.
The Training of Trainers model is intended to create stronger connections between national regulatory requirements and production-level implementation within beekeeping communities.
Through district-level support structures, producers will have improved access to technical guidance aimed at strengthening compliance across the value chain.
Development of national technical evidence also formed an important component of the exercise.
Geo-referenced sampling and honey profiling activities were introduced to support the establishment of a clearer national understanding of production zones, product characteristics and potential residue risks.
Such information is expected to support the development of a National Residue Monitoring Plan that reflects local production realities while aligning with international compliance expectations. Reliable data also strengthens Zimbabwe’s ability to engage importing authorities and respond to technical assessments conducted during market approval processes.
Traceability remains another critical area for export market access.
Buyers require products to be traceable from production and collection points through aggregation, processing, storage and final dispatch.
For a sector that includes a significant number of smallholder producers, achieving this standard requires stronger producer registration systems, record keeping, batch identification, sampling procedures and improved communication across the value chain.
Cooperation between producers, processors, laboratories and regulatory institutions will be important in supporting compliance outcomes.
The programme is also expected to contribute towards creating clearer pathways for producers to transition from informal and local sales channels into structured and regulated markets.
Government and support institutions are expected to benefit through strengthened technical capacity to coordinate compliance systems, supervise implementation and support export development efforts.
