The study was conducted in Uganda in five districts of Lira, Kole, Nakasongola, Tororo, and Kabarole. A survey was conducted to establish the different socio-economic characteristics of bee-keeping farmers that influence the production of honey. A structured questionnaire was administered randomly to 218 beekeepers from the five districts and data analyzed using STATA 11. The results of STATA indicated four explanatory variables with P-values of <0.05 influencing honey production namely; bee keeping in income generation (P = 0.00, F = 6.6), types of hives kept per farmer (P = 0.00, F= 29.5), total number of hives kept per farmer (P = 0.00, F = 29.7) and number of hives colonized (P = 0.00, F = 13.2). Level of education, gender, age, beekeeping experience, market availability and training of bee keepers were not significant. Our results show that management of number of colonies corresponds to increase in honey production. These findings can support policy makers and beekeepers on honey production increase. We recommend bee keepers to match colony numbers to the resources available in their environment and maintain a minimum of 80 colonised bee hives. The country should promote the use of traditional bee hives and boost their production by making improvements on traditional bee hive construction.
Keywords: Bee Hives Type, Beekeeper, Environment, Honeybee Colony Management
