ISSUE NO 103, JUNE 2012
Extensive apiculture Cameroon, Ethiopia Kyrgyzstan Honey walk Bankrupt beekeepers www.beesfordevelopment.org
COVER PHOTO © Kate Lynch
Bees for Development Journal 103
Dear friends Our cover picture shows an oil painting by artist Kate Lynch, depicting British skep maker Diana Robertson. One hundred years ago, most honey bees in the UK were kept in skeps, the British style of basket hive, and the skills to make these baskets were commonplace. Today in the UK, just a very few people like Diana still have the skills to make these skeps. Beekeepers using skeps utilised bees in a way that is fundamentally different from current day British beekeeping: they focused on the local honey bee population, rather than each individual colony. We can say that beekeeping in those days was more extensive compared with current day beekeeping in frame hives - that tends towards intensive beekeeping, highly directed towards gaining maximum honey production from each colony. Beekeeping is still practised in an extensive way in many places around the world, and in such regions (notably sub-Saharan Africa) honey bee populations live naturally and remain markedly healthy. We discuss this further on pages 3 to 5. It is interesting to consider what styles of beekeeping will be the norm one hundred years from now.
Diana Robertson weaving a British skep from wheat straw. From the book The beekeeper & the bee by Kate Lynch reviewed on page 14
ISSUE No 103 June 2012 page
Extensive beekeeping...................... 3 Fungicide residues bankrupt beekeepers..................................... 6 Asian Apicultural Association News .7 Notice Board................................... 7 Projects underway at BfD................ 8 Letters.......................................... 10 News around the World................. 11 Look and Learn Ahead.................. 12 Notice Board................................. 12 Bookshelf...................................... 14
BfD on Wikipedia Bees for Development featured on the front page of Wikipedia in the ‘Did you know’ section on 30 May as part of the launch of Monmouthpedia. Monmouth, the town in Wales where we are based, became linked with Wikipedia to be the world’s first Wikipedia town. This generated over 2,000 views of our Wikipedia page on the day. Wikipedia is a new avenue for BfD to raise awareness of the great benefits provided by sustainable beekeeping. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/MonmouthpediA PHOTO © Nguno Chugga
In this issue
BfD Journal Produced quarterly and sent to readers in over 130 countries Editor Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator Helen Jackson BSc Subscriptions cost £26 per year - see page 15 for ways to pay Readers in developing countries: are eligible for a sponsored subscription. Apply online or use the form on page 16 BfD Trust (UK Registered Charity 1078803) works to assist beekeepers in developing countries.
Bees for Development Post 1 Agincourt Street Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Phone +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org
Nguno Chugga works with the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service - see page 10 Support: Bees for Development Trust acknowledge Panta Rhea Foundation, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Trade Advance Ltd, the Waterloo Foundation and the many beekeeping groups and individuals who support our work. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to help. See page 15 or our website for how to become a Supporter. Copyright: You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in BfDJ as part of our Information Service. Permission is given on the understanding that BfDJ and author(s) are acknowledged, BfD contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item or the website address where it is used.
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EXTENSIVE BEEKEEPING
Janet Lowore and Nicola Bradbear, Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth, NP25 3DZ, UK PHOTOs © Bees for Development
Keywords: Africa, Argentina, Chile, cost-benefit analysis, extensive/intensive apiculture
Intensive agriculture It is commonly assumed that intensification of agriculture is the key to increasing profits. This is not always true. Let us consider the example of fish farming. As the density of fish in a pond is increased, the wastes increase, the oxygen levels fall, and the natural assimilative capacity of the pond cannot maintain the water quality. In a traditional, low density system the pond’s natural biological productivity (algae, higher plants, zooplankton and bacteria) serve as biological filters that convert the wastes through natural biological processes. Intensive systems do enable large yields, but additional energy inputs in the form of labour, water exchange, aeration and feeds are all required to sustain these systems. There is a point where the incremental returns are not worth the additional inputs and risks, and ‘Increasing the intensity of the system does not necessarily reflect an increase in profitability’1. In this article we argue that where natural environments can provide everything that honey bees require, extensive beekeeping is more profitable than intensive beekeeping. It will be more sustainable, more resilient and less risky. The resilience of an ecosystem is its capacity to return to its pre-condition state following a disturbance, including maintaining its essential characteristics, taxonomic composition, structures, ecosystem functions, and process rates’2. In this era of climate change and the globalisation of honey bee pests and diseases, resilience is a great benefit of extensive beekeeping. How are extensive and intensive beekeeping different? There are many approaches to beekeeping: the least intensive methods differ little from how bees live in nature, while in the most intensive, many honey bee colonies are maintained in a single apiary, feeding and the application of medicines are the norm, queens are selected, bred and replaced annually, and bees are manipulated in various ways. In this article we are considering the extensive beekeeping systems employed by the beekeepers living and working in the savannah woodlands of Central and East Africa3 4 5 6. The beekeepers disperse hundreds of locally-made hives in trees, wait for some of them to be naturally occupied by honey bee colonies, and subsequently harvest honeycombs (from which honey and beeswax are obtained) by breaking ripe honeycombs from those hives in which honey bees have established colonies. One accusation often levelled at this type of beekeeping is that colonies are killed during harvesting. This does happen, but not always. Even if it does, we argue that where honey bees and their habitats are still abundant, the wider population of honey bees is not harmed significantly. However we believe that it is now essential for beekeepers everywhere to always endeavour to harvest honey without harm to bees: careful harvesting of high quality honey and beeswax without harm to bees is of paramount importance.
The whole honey bee population, not just a single colony, lies at the heart of extensive beekeeping A honey bee colony is one family of bees consisting of one queen, thousands of female worker bees, and a number (depending on the season) of male drone bees.
Extensive and intensive beekeeping can be compared on a number of levels. Here we consider profitability and sustainability – where sustainability is the ability to endure and provide resources for future generations.
A honey bee population is the entire population of honey bees in any area, made of tens, hundreds or thousands of honey bee colonies. 3
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Profitability Every beekeeping system requires bee hives, labour for placing hives and harvesting, equipment for harvesting honey and beeswax, and buckets for storage. Intensive beekeepers will spend time and money also on management, manipulation, protection, feeding, disease control and queen rearing, whereas an extensive beekeeper spends little on these activities.
Considering the honey bee population as a whole A conventional cost-benefit analysis can be applied to both systems but it is essential that the extensive system takes a population approach to the analysis and does not base calculations on a single colony: this consideration of the honey bee population, as opposed to a single honey bee colony lies at the heart of extensive beekeeping. For extensive beekeepers, their production resource is the entire, local, wild, honey bee population living in their hives – and in those of their neighbours. Distinction between the wild population of honey bees, and beekeepers’ bees, is a false one. To tell an extensive beekeeper that their yield per colony is lower than that of an intensive beekeeper is an irrelevance.
In extensive beekeeping a single hive (one colony) may seem to have low production, however each beekeeper will have tens or hundreds of low cost, low effort hives, and it is the total production from all of these which should be considered.
Intensive beekeepers will count their unit of production as one, single colony – for example the National Agricultural Research Institute in Argentina worked out that each colony must produce at least 27 kg per year to give the beekeeper a profit7.
By contrast, extensive beekeepers work to prevent swarming, instead using hive technologies to encourage bees to invest in honey production rather than reproduction. The honey bee ecologist Professor Tom Seeley of Cornell University describes that this approach undermines genetic fitness, explaining that “... the tendency of honey bee colonies in beekeepers’ hives to refrain from colony reproduction and instead to stockpile several times as much honey as they need for winter survival. This shunting of resources into storage and away from reproduction benefits beekeepers,... but hurts the bees, whose genetical fitness would be greater if they concentrated more on reproduction and less on honey storage”10.
The extensive beekeeper is utilising the whole honey bee population - or at least the part of the population that happens to be living in their hives at any one time. The extensive beekeepers’ cost-benefit analysis will consider all their input costs and their income from the total volume of honey and beeswax sold. Harvesting from large numbers of hives involves considerable time and effort, and extensive beekeepers make their own judgements about likely returns from their labour. However, changing to a more intensive system incurs far greater costs (and other considerations) and may not be worthwhile.
Sustainability and healthy honey bee populations
Extensive beekeepers rely on the natural ability of their bees and the process of natural selection to remain healthy. They do not use medicines, they have no management control – so cannot check for diseases. They do not prop up ailing colonies. If a colony succumbs to an illness or weakness then an extensive beekeeper is likely to just let this happen. The outcome is survival of the fittest. This approach to bee health is free in terms of financial outlay. Some might argue that this is possible only where the bee population is relatively free from pests and diseases. However, we suggest that the coincidence of extensive beekeeping and healthy bees is not an accident of good fortune. In an in-depth analysis of the status of African honey bees one study concluded that the health and resilience of indigenous honey bees on the continent could be attributed to “beekeeping management (small versus large-scale), absence of breeding, high genetic diversity and …. less stress that allows honey bees to defend themselves against parasites and diseases”11. The extensive approach also supports bee health in the following ways:
There is much more to extensive beekeeping than just a positive cost-benefit analysis in the right environment. Other assets in every beekeeping system include the bees, their genetic characteristics, the means of population increase, and bee health. It is when considering these assets that we learn more about what ‘taking a population approach’ means and the sustainability of the system can be fully understood. Bee health is probably the biggest gain of the extensive system. Medication and control of honey bee health are nowadays major costs in intensive systems. In an extensive system, the population increases through natural swarming. For this to work best, some colonies must be left undisturbed (unharvested) as mother colonies. This may require a deliberate decision on the part of the beekeeper, alternatively these mother colonies may be simply wild ‘un-owned’ colonies. Achieving increase through swarming is not only free but has many health implications too8. The strongest queens are selected naturally, while very weak colonies will not reach sufficient size for fission by swarming to take place and will therefore not be reproduced. Repeated building of new nests (whether necessitated through swarming, absconding or migration of honey bee colonies) works against the persistence of pathogens and, for example, where Varroa is present, the brood-free period caused by swarming breaks the Varroa population’s growth cycle too. There is increasing evidence to show that the ‘survival of the fittest’ approach leads to Varroa tolerance9.
• Less interference means less stress for the bees, enhancing their intrinsic ability to resist disease. • No import and movement of equipment, no re-use of old combs, reduces the chances for beekeepers to maintain and spread honey bee diseases. • The live and let die approach allows for natural selection and survival of the fittest – an important element when it comes to 4
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tolerance of ubiquitous pests and challenges such as periodic drought and changing climate. • Mimicking the natural way bees live also allows bees to adapt and use their own defence and survival mechanisms. For example, the siting of hives in trees copies the bees’ own way of protecting themselves from ants and other predators. Accepting that tropical bees migrate seasonally and abscond when disturbed, maintains a healthy population. Extensive beekeepers accept that these defence mechanisms present certain challenges, but have learnt to adapt their management systems to incorporate these bee-derived defence mechanisms because they require no financial outlay, and are highly effective. • The siting of bees well apart from other colonies also reduces the spread of diseases and reduces localised pressures on food and water. When discussing the incidence of Nosema ceranae on Apis mellifera in Chile, one expert on organic beekeeping commented: “part of [the] problem is related to the structure of a commercial apiary, with a considerable concentration of colonies which does not occur naturally”12. • The bee health benefits of swarming already mentioned above.
Intensive beekeepers count each honey bee colony as their unit of production
One quickly appreciates that extensive beekeeping is most viable where natural environments have not been degraded and population pressures (of the human kind) are not excessive. However, it must be noted that the extensive beekeepers of the savannah woodlands of Africa do not practice extensive beekeeping because somehow they are ‘lucky’; the beekeeping systems they use serve to protect and maintain the resilience and health of honey bee populations. To summarise, an extensive system is cost effective because nature provides many of the elements of the sustainable beekeeping system at no financial cost to the beekeeper. Like the fish system described above, a traditional, low density, extensive system is profitable because the costs are low, and much of the income is profit. Where this is the case – in many parts of Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique Tanzania and Zambia, the existing traditional beekeeping systems (that are extensive systems) are highly sustainable, resilient and profitable. The unique, resilient and sustainable characteristics of extensive beekeeping need to be more widely appreciated and understood, while the beekeepers who maintain these systems need to be encouraged in their work, and not constantly exhorted to ‘modernise’. Truly modern beekeeping must be resilient, sustainable and financially viable: three characteristics of extensive beekeeping.
Medication and control of honey bee health are major costs in intensive beekeeping
References 1. Tilapia farming (2012). (accessed 15 May 2012) http://www.fishfarming.com/tilapia.html 2. HOLLING,C.S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecosystems. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 4: 1-23. 3. FISHER,E. (2002). Beekeeping, livelihoods and rural development. In Strengthening Livelihoods; exploring the role of beekeeping in development. Bees for Development, Monmouth, UK. 4. FISHER,E. (1996). The social sustainability of beekeeping. Bees for Development Journal 39. 5. WAINWRIGHT,D. (1991). Forest honey in Zambia. Bees for Development Journal 39. 6. BRADBEAR,N. (2009). Bees and their role in forest livelihoods: a guide to the services provided by bees and the sustainable harvesting, processing and marketing of their products. FAO Non-wood forest products No 19. FAO, Rome, Italy. 7. GRAHAM,J.M. (ed.) (2010). US Honey crops and market. American Bee Journal. (Section on Argentina, page 440). 8. HAVERSON,J. (2012). Swarming bees are healthy bees. BBKA News. April: 16-17. 9. MANRIQUEZ,A. (2010). France a Varroa challenge. ApiNews. 02 November 2010. 10. SEELEY,T.D. (1985). Honeybee ecology; a study of adaptation in social life. Princeton University Press, USA. 11 DIETEMANN,V.; PIRK,C.W.W.; CREWE,R. (2008). Is there a need for conservation of honeybees in Africa? Apidologie: 40 (3). 12 BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT (2010). Organic beekeeping – a discussion (contribution from Ulrich Broker). Bees for Development Journal 96.
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FUNGICIDE RESIDUES BANKRUPT BEEKEEPERS Nguyen Quang Tan, Bee Research Unit, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Keywords: carbendazim, fungicide, honey regulations, maximum residue limit, US Environment Protection Agency, Vietnam
ASTLEY,M. (2012b). US OJ carbendazim measures may violate international trade pacts – import law firm.
My 2011 article in BfDJ ‘The profitability of Apis mellifera in Vietnam’ looked at the risks of beekeeping (Tan 2011). One of these risks was the many and unforeseen changes in the international honey market regarding policy and quality. Thousands of Vietnamese beekeepers are now facing bankruptcy because of the presence in their honey of residues of the fungicide carbendazim.
http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Public-Concerns/US-OJcarbendazim-measures-may-violate-international-trade-pactsimport-law-firm* EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) (2005) Reregistration Eligibility Decision – Thiophanate-methyl. http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/tm_red.pdf* EU COMMISSION REGULATION (2011). Regulations No 559/2011 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011: 152:0001:0021:EN:PDF
Carbendazim is a cheap fungicide which is applied to fruits and crops. It is commonly and legally used around the world in countries including Canada and many European countries.
FDA (2012). Orange Juice Products and Carbendazim: Addendum to FDA Letter to the Juice Products Association (9 January 2012) http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/ FruitsVegetablesJuices/ucm287783.htm*
As for any agricultural chemical, there is a maximum residue limit (MRL) for carbendazim in foods and beverages. In Europe, the MRL is set at 200 parts per billion (ppb) for most agricultural products (EU Commission Regulation 2011). The USA does not allow the use of carbendazim in agriculture but will allow the use of thiophanate methyl, a fungicide which naturally degrades to carbendazim in plants and the environment (EPA 2005). US bee scientists have found residues of 27 and 149 ppb respectively in honey and pollen (Johnson et al 2010).
JOHNSON, R.M.; ELLIS,M,D.; MULLIN,C,A.; FRAZIER,M. (2010). Pesticides and honey bee toxicity – USA. Apidologie] 2010. http://entomology.unl.edu/faculty/ellispubs/Pesticides.pdf* TAN,N.Q (2011). Profitability of Apis mellifera in Vietnam. Bees for Development Journal 99: 8-9.
A survey by the Food and Drug Administration found that 9 out of 14 samples of domestically manufactured orange juice contained levels of carbendazim of 13-36 ppb (Astley 2012a). The orange juice is not recalled because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that residues lower than 80 ppb do not pose a health risk (Astley 2012a, 2012b; FDA 2012).
PHOTO © Bees for Development
*sites accessed 21 February 2012
Recently, 24 shipments from Brazil and Canada of orange juice testing positive (10 ppb or more) for carbendazim have been detained or refused entry to the USA (FDA 2012), despite this being in violation of international trade agreements (Astley 2012b). In late 2011 some shipments of honey from Vietnam to the USA were returned. This was the first time that Vietnamese beekeepers and honey exporters were informed of a new criterion for honey quality with carbendazim levels less than 10 ppb. The change to the quality requirement is too sudden for beekeepers to adapt. This season in Vietnam thousands of tonnes of honey were harvested from cashew, coffee, and rubber - carbendazim is used to control fungi on some of these plants, thus the honey is unintentionally contaminated with the fungicide at levels of 10-100 ppb. Beekeepers cannot sell their honey and cannot repay loans. The Vietnamese New Year passed sadly for the beekeepers’ families because they did not have money to celebrate the most important event of the year. The health of consumers must always take priority. According to the EPA, the residue level of 80 ppb in orange juice is not a risk. What residue can be accepted for the honey imported to the USA? The MRL of 10 ppb may be too strict and should be set at 80 ppb or above, so that it can save the livelihoods of beekeepers in developing countries as well as meeting the demand for honey by consumers in the USA. References ASTLEY,M. (2012a). Brazil trade body questions carbendazim double standards after US OJ breaches import limit. http://www. foodqualitynews.com/Legislation/Brazil-trade-body-questionscarbendazim-double-standards-after-US-OJ-breaches-import-limit*
Honey harvested from coffee could be found to be unintentionally contaminated if carbendazim is used to control fungi on the plants 6
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Asian Apicultural Association News Take a Honey Walk colony or an extra Apis mellifera hive adding more interest. Honey Walkers are impressed to see honey bees working for their colony.
The Honeybee Science Research Center at Japan’s Tamagawa University have joined with the not for profit organisation One Thousand Flowers for Bees Tokyo to create the Honey Walk. Honey bees in Japan have suffered for many years from shortage of pollen and nectar sources and need more flowers to visit. So why do we not grow more nectar and pollen sources in fields, gardens and parks? Let us change unused fields to sweet gardens full of attractive flowers for bees. With these messages, we will guide ecology-conscious people to the magical world of honey bees.
In early summer, a group started walking from a lecture hall at about 1300 hours. They were asked to check the Boston ivy Pathenocissus tricuspidata growing on the wall before they left. Beneath the green leaves there were many yellow-green flowers on the vine, but no bees. However, when they came back from the walk at 1500 hours the wall was noisy with many honey bees buzzing around the leaves and gathering nectar. Why? What happened? It was explained to the participants how Boston ivy nectar flow is only for a short period at a specific time of day, around 1500 hours. Bees learn this and with their internal clock will fly to the vine only at nectar flow time. This is an amazing fact about honey bees and bee plants - seeing really is believing. Honey Walkers acquire a bees’ eye view and are stimulated to grow those plants that are most attractive to bees.
As a healthy sweetener, many types of honey are on the market and the honey bee is a very familiar character in Japan: on T-shirts, bags or in songs, ‘cute’ bees are everywhere. But the fact is that people often fear bee stings and are afraid of honey bees buzzing near to them. In Japan we no longer find children with nets chasing insects on a summer morning. Yet, when eco-friendly people hear of the difficult conditions for honey bees in this country and want to help, they are not sure how to support the bees.
Hitomi Enomoto, AAA Co-ordinator, ApiScience Information Services, Tokyo, Japan
Our Honey Walk is designed to make people more bee-friendly by showing them honey bees at work in their neighbourhood. The event starts with a lecture to introduce honey bees, bees and the environment, beekeeping, bee products, and bee plants. With the recent publication on our melliferous flora by Professor Masami Sasaki (see right), discussions on bee plants have become active and exciting.
Bee’s Eye View of Flowering Plants - Nectar and pollen sources and related honey bee products. This is a high quality book containing an abundance of fantastic photographs of bees and their flora: available from the BfD webstore www. beesfordevelopment.org/catalog
Next, participants take a walk with the lecturer. The route is carefully planned because it is essential to see flowers in full bloom that bees are visiting on the day of the walk. We research in advance so that the group will find various types of plants. The walk will include roadside trees, flowers and trees in homes and parks, field crops and waterside; and the lecturer will point out good nectar and/or pollen sources. Participants learn that even if there are plenty of sweet flowers in bloom, honey bees cannot use them if the flower structures or nectary positions do not fit. Many walkers are surprised to know that some double-petal flowers or hybrids do not provide a nectar flow or make pollen, even though they look beautiful to the human eye. Visiting an apiary during the walk can be an added bonus; with views of a wild Apis cerana
AAA was established in 1992 to encourage exchange of information between beekeepers and bee scientists in Asia. The 11th AAA Conference is in September in Malaysia. See page 16 for more information. BfDJ is proud to be the official Newsletter of AAA
NOTICE BOARD
AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL The oldest English language beekeeping publication in the world. See a digital copy and subscribe at www.americanbeejournal.com APIACTA For the beekeeper and bee scientist Apiacta the Apimondia Journal. Available online from www.apimondia.org BEE CRAFT UK Beekeeping Journal for beginners and seasoned apiarists View a digital copy and subscribe on line at www.bee-craft.com BEE CULTURE The magazine of American beekeeping. 140 years experience. Today’s techniques. Tomorrow’s ideas. US$15 for a digital subscription. See www.BeeCulture.com ULUDAG BEE JOURNAL News, practical information and research articles Published quarterly in Turkish with English summaries. See www.uludagaricilik.org BEE FRIENDS Search for beekeepers in your own nation or any other country worldwide. Go to www.beesfordevelopment.org and then Network Centre. Visit us on or to keep in touch with latest developments at BfD ADVERTISE IN BfDJ A great opportunity to reach thousands of our readers. Various size ads available. See www.beesfordevelopment.org/journal/advertising 7
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PROJECTS UNDERWAY AT BfD
Janet Lowore, Elizabeth McLeod and Nicola Bradbear, Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth, NP25 3DZ, UK PHOTOs © Bees for Development
Keywords: Africa, beeswax, Cameroon, Centre of Excellence, Darwin Initiative, Ethiopia, Europe, honey export, Kyrgyzstan, Rural Development Fund, Trade Advance Ltd - UK
CAMEROON In BfDJ 97 we reported a successful new approach to honey filtering in Cameroon that relies predominantly on cheap and locally available materials. The honey filtering table uses fine stainless steel mesh to separate honey from the beeswax comb and other residues.
The challenge of efficient, organic wax extraction After extracting top quality, cold filtered honey, the next challenge is to separate the beautiful, bright yellow beeswax from the comb residue left on the table This separation needs to avoid direct contact between smoke and wax because the Cameroon wax is certified as being organic by the UK’s Soil Association. If smoke gets into the wax this cannot be removed using organic methods and so destroys the valuable status of the wax.
Guiding Hope’s honey and wax sellers in Yaoundé and beeswax drip through the mesh and leave the residues in the mesh. The liquid is channelled out of the separator into a bucket where the molten wax sits on top of the honey. This allows the wax to be siphoned off from the top of the bucket and the honey from the bottom.
Current methods wash the comb with water, however this wastes the honey left in the residue. Therefore in Cameroon we tested a miniature version of a steam method to melt and separate the honey and beeswax.
Results The steam method took about six hours to work - this is slower than the manual method currently in use. Although it separated both honey and beeswax from the residues, the honey had higher water content because it absorbed water during the steaming therefore it would not be useful as table honey. Both the existing
How does it work? A tank with water is heated from underneath the separator to avoid contact of smoke and wax. Inside the separator, the comb residue is held in a mesh container. As it melts, the liquid honey
Fine stainless steel mesh in the honey filtering table separates the honey from wax and other residues
Testing underway for the ‘steam method’ separator
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PHOTOs © Bees for Development
and steam methods produce this mixture of honey and water which can be used for fermentation into honey beer or wine, so the steam method represented no improvement on the existing method.
Preferred method for organic wax extraction For now, the existing manual method of organic wax extraction is preferred over the steam method because it is quicker and employs more labour. The manual method involves boiling the filter table residues with water in a heated tank and straining them through a sack applying pressure manually.
(right) Beeswax from the Project is certified organic
ETHIOPIA
many of its people as possible by using ‘trade as aid’ by equipping people with the tools to produce more, and sell more, of what they produce”.
Bees for Development are pleased to announce the establishment of a BfD Apiculture Centre of Excellence in Amhara State: this is the first of its kind in Africa. This development is the outcome of a unique partnership between Bernie and Yemi Thomas of Trade Advance Ltd, UK, who are the the social entrepreneurs committing the funds; Mr Tilahun Gebey, Ethiopian apiculture specialist; and Bees for Development Trust.
The Centre will be set up in Amhara State because it is one of the main beekeeping regions in the country and where the needs of farmers are acute and urgent. (An IDS study reported that 70% of households in Amhara are vulnerable or destitute). BfD Ethiopia was registered as an Ethiopian charity on 30 May 2012. The coming year will see the organisation establish its structures and processes, and begin to offer effective and relevant support to the beekeeping community in Amhara.
The new Apiculture Centre of Excellence will be an information, education and research hub offering advice on apiculture best practice, resource management and beekeeping as a business. Mr Gebey said “I will be proud to work on this initiative. Together we can make a change – helping farmers develop their beekeeping up to business level and reduce hardship in rural areas.”
References 1. IDE (2007). Ensuring small-scale producers in Ethiopia to achieve sustainable and fair access to honey markets. Paper prepared for International Development Enterprises (IDE) and Ethiopian Society for Appropriate Technology by B Tadesse and D Phillips.
Trade Advance Ltd is a ‘More Than for Profit’ company that aims to grow and generate a profit but also seeks to make positive contributions socially and environmentally too. Trade Advance Ltd is the holding company for UK companies DM Hay Church Supplies and Hay’s Candles.
2. ETHIOPIAN EXPORT PROMOTION DEPARTMENT (2006). Exports of honey and beeswax draft report. Ministry of Trade and Industry, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 3. ADMASSU,A.; NURU,A. (2000). Effect of honey bee pollination on seed yield and oil content of Niger Guizotia abyssinica. Proceedings of the 1st National Conference of Ethiopian Beekeepers Association. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 7-8 June 1999.
Selling bee products for income is an essential livelihood activity for millions of farmers in Ethiopia. The prevalence of beekeeping ranges from 20% of households in some communities, up to 90% in others1. Some beekeepers use honey for ceremonies and medicine, while the majority of honey is sold for tej (honey wine) making. The beeswax trade is significant, with an export of 300 tonnes per year over the past decades2. The pollination services of honey bees are vital: for example one investigation of Niger Guizotia abyssinica revealed that honey bee pollination increased the seed yield by 43%3.
4. CSA (2002). Statistical Abstract. Central Statistical Agency. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 5. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT (2006). Series of Annual Reports 2005, 2006. Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 6. EJIGU,T.; GEBEY,T.; PRESTON,T.R. (2008). Constraints and prospects for apiculture research and development in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Andassa Livestock Research Centre, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Despite the superlative statistics of 4,601,806 colonies in the country4, largest honey producing country in Africa, 4th largest beeswax exporter in the world, up to 90% of households keeping bees, 30,000 tonnes of honey produced per year5, 7,000 species of indigenous flowering plants the apiculture sector in Ethiopia faces challenges. In a survey undertaken in Amhara, beekeepers ranked their two priority problems as shortage of bee forage and pesticide poisoning6. Another study describes market difficulties: “Farmers …. face barriers to understanding and meeting requirements for quality, quantity and consistency of supply”1. Recognition of the importance of beekeeping for development in Ethiopia has led to this initiative. Bernie and Yemi Thomas say: “When we set up Trade Advance Ltd in 2003 we always had a vision of using the business for more than just making a profit and more specifically to help address poverty in Ethiopia, Yemi’s country of origin. Our primary aim is to restore dignity back to as
Tilahun Gebey 9
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PHOTOs © Bees for Development
KYRGYZSTAN Working with local partner, Rural Development Fund (RDF), Bees for Development has successfully secured funding from the UK Darwin Initiative for the Project Equitable Access to Pasture Use for Beekeepers in Kyrgyz Republic. Kyrgyz honey is produced in the herb rich mountain pastures which bloom from May to mid-August – following sub-zero winters. Yet beekeeping is declining as conflict with livestock herders over access to the pastures is exacerbated by population growth and pressure on these unique ecosystems. With support from The Darwin Initiative, BfD and partners RDF and the Kyrgyz Association of Beekeepers, are working to improve public understanding of the value of honey bees and their pollination services, to promote beekeeping as a sustainable and environmentally beneficial livelihood for young herders in the northern pastures of Chon-Kemin, and to ensure that beekeepers’ rights to access and use of pastures are recognised. Umut Zholdoshova from RDF says: “It is encouraging that the project is supported by the Darwin Initiative. The project is very timely in the light of the Pasture Legislation Reform in the Republic. Pastures are important not only for the herders, but also for the secondary users including beekeepers and collectors of herbs and berries. By promoting the interests of beekeepers we hope to achieve equitable access to, and sustainable use of pasture resources, and contribute to poverty reduction in rural communities of Chon-Kemin Valley. RDF will train beekeepers in GIS mapping to record their migratory routes through the summer pastures, and young herders will be trained in beekeeping and supported in startup through a small grants programme. Focus groups with herders and beekeepers will feed into discussion of pasture management at the local pasture users’ union. And at national level, we will lobby for an amendment recognising beekeepers as secondary pasture users through reform to the Pasture Law”.
Herb-rich mountain pastures bloom from May to mid-August
Kyrgyz beekeepers move their colonies to high altitude pastures in summer
LETTERS
scorching. However some types of wood have a strong smell which is repellent to bees. Bees show preferences concerning the orientation of the hive entrance to the sun, and in a tropical environment a shady position for hives is essential. More on baiting hives at www.beesfordevelopment.org/portal
Baiting hives I am a beekeeper in Nigeria with 38 top-bar hives and two frame hives. My challenge is that the bees often abscond from some of my hives. Three weeks ago I placed 15 hives in the forest but so far these have not been colonised by bees. Kindly advise. Kujore Oludotun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State BfD replies: It can be sometimes difficult to get new hives occupied. Hives that have previously been used by bees are more attractive because they will contain the residual scents of previous occupants. Bees are attracted by beeswax so rub some inside new hives, and fresh starter strips of beeswax on the underside of topbars in top-bar hives will serve as an attractant. Herbs can be used to bait hives, in particular those with a citrus scent such as bee balm, lemon grass and verbena. Among other attractants, people have used urine (not very appealing, but attractive to bees because of the salts it contains), palm wine, fermented banana skins (both sweet and sticky), paste made from peanuts, or cassava powder (a protein source). Substances that bees need such as sugar syrup will attract them but be careful that you do not also attract unwanted pests. When hives are scorched using flames to disinfect them, the scorched wood has been shown to be of interest to bees, possibly because of the minerals that have been made available by the
Request for help As Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service we are working with marginalised, vulnerable and displaced people in 15 villages in Morogoro Region, western Tanzania. Beekeeping is growing incredibly fast as the best income-generator out of all of our agricultural activities. How can we get support from your organisation? Nguno Chugga, Field Officer Morogoro Empowerment Project BfD replies: We can help by providing you with information and resources for training. On our website: • Our Information Portal provides reports, articles and many pages of practical information; • Use the Network Centre to get in touch with others - in your country or beyond; • Fill in the form for a sponsored subscription to this Journal (see page 16); • Apply to receive a sponsored Resource Box full of useful training materials. 10
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When I was 10 years old I used to go honey hunting at night with older boys. We would burn the colonies and take all the combs, honey or no honey. One day we found a discarded top-bar hive containing a lot of honey. When I took the honey home my elderly uncle told me that it was taboo to harvest someone else’s hive and it could lead to many bad things among them sudden death! I later ‘borrowed’ my mother’s cooking pot and placed it in a mango tree because a swarm had come to rest just a few metres from our house. When I came back from school the next day I found the swarm had entered the pot. It was my happiest day. I told all my friends that I would be having my own honey soon. After a week my mother wanted to cook but could not find the pot. I was out and when I came back home I found my brother had lit a fire ...the pot was on the fire. All my bees had been cooked alive. After leaving school I had a few jobs and managed to save a little money. With the help of a
UGANDA Meetings were held with 20 beekeeping groups and individual farmers in Kuju, Morungatuny and Ogolai sub-counties in January 2012. I recruited a co-ordinator for each sub-county visited and my aim is to recruit for all 12 sub-counties of Amuria District. The groups wish to form an umbrella body to co-ordinate and facilitate beekeeping activities in Amuria. It is estimated that there are over 500 beekeeping groups in the District, with an average of 50 groups in each sub-county. This number could double if the following points are addressed: lack of access to market, lack of training, acquisition of hives, identification of donor partners and lack of processing and packing equipment. The groups recommended that because of its wide forest coverage, Amuria Apiculture Demonstration Project is suitable for development into a study centre . There is also a plan to build a processing and packing plant in the District. Tree planting should be integrated into the plans to ensure conservation of the natural environment and to provide homes for bees. M Okiro Emadit-Alex, Chief Executive Officer, AADEPU, Kampala
Samuel Bananah aka Samir Bokelo small grant I bought my first hives four years ago. I have lost many colonies to wax moths, honey badgers and safari ants and am still learning about bees. However I teach communities and young
school students about the importance of bees and share my experiences on Facebook under the name Samir Bokelo. Samuel Bananah, Salama, Kenya
PHOTO © AADEPU
KENYA
PHOTO © Samuel Bananah
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
Beekeeping co-ordinators are being recruited for the 12 sub-counties in Amuria District
If you are on Facebook remember to ‘like’ BfD! Tell us Your Story at www.beesfordevelopment.org/what-we-do/beekeeper-stories 11
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LOOK AHEAD CANADA
APIMONDIA Symposium Queen Breeding, Selection & Honey Bee Health 15-18 November 2012, Quebec City Further details Pierre.Giovenazzo@bio.ulaval.ca
CHINA
31st International Union of Biological Sciences Conference 5-9 July 2012, Suzhou Further details www.iubs.org APIMONDIA Symposium 4th Apimedica & 3rd Apiquality 15-18 October 2012, Zhenjiang Further details clhb@hotmail.com
ETHIOPIA
3rd ApiExpo Africa 26-29 September 2012, Addis Ababa Further details page 16
GERMANY
EurBee 5th European Conference of Apidology 4-6 September 2012, Halle an der Saale Further details www.eurbee2012.uni-halle.de
MALAYSIA
11th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 28 September - 2 October 2012, Kuala Terengganu Further details page 16
SAN MARINO
APIMONDIA Symposium ApiEcoFlora 4-6 October 2012 Further details apimondia@sanmarinoconvention.sm
SOUTH KOREA
APIMONDIA 44th International Apicultural Congress 2015 Further details will appear here
UK
Scottish Beekeepers’ Centenary Celebration 15-16 September 2012, University of Stirling Further details www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk 81st National Honey Show 25-27 October 2012, Weybridge Further details wwwhoneyshow.org.uk
UKRAINE
APIMONDIA 43rd International Apicultural Congress 15-20 September 2013, Kiev Further details www.apimondia2013.org.ua
USA
North American Biodynamic Conference 15-18 November 2012, Madison, Wisconsin Further details info@biodynamics.com
LEARN AHEAD IRELAND
Irish Beekeepers Summer Course 22-27 July 2012, Gormanston Further details www.irishbeekeeping.ie
BfD UK Courses BEE AWARE with Brigit Strawbridge The importance of bees as pollinators, why they are in trouble and what we can do to help 18 August 2012, Monmouth Strengthening livelihoods by means of beekeeping 12 October 2012, Monmouth Sustainable beekeeping 13-14 October 2012 Ragman’s Lane Permaculture Farm, Gloucestershire Mead Making 12 October 2012
BfD Beekeepers’ Safaris Turkey 7-19 July 2012 Trinidad & Tobago 14-21 January 2013 For more details of courses and safaris see www.beesfordevelopment.org
If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website send details to Bees for Development, address on page 16
NOTICE BOARD
AWARD A professional development programme that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. See www.awardfellowships.org YOUNG SCIENTISTS International Union of Biological Sciences offers grants to scientists under 35 years old. See how to apply for support to attend the next International Symposium on Pollination organised by the International Commission on Plant Bee Relations and part of the IUBS at www.iubs.org FUNDING FROM FAO TeleFood Special Fund Beekeepers’ groups and associations may apply for project funding of up to US$10,000. Request documents should include a brief description of project objectives, proposed food production or income-generating activities, work plan, number of participants, detailed list of inputs with cost estimates and reporting arrangements. See www.fao.org 1% for Development Fund Small grants enable community based beekeeping projects in developing countries to get off the ground. Applicants must define clear objectives and describe how they are to be attained. Email One-Per-Cent-Fund@FAO.org CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSIVE GRANT Non-profit or cultural organisations can apply for funding from the Commonwealth Foundation to support activities including training courses, workshops, conferences, exchanges and study visits to promote international or intercultural exchange, co-operation and sharing of skills, knowledge and ideas between people from developing Commonwealth countries. Conditions apply. See www.commonwealthfoundation.com GRANTS TO SCIENTISTS IFS Research Grants are for citizens of a developing country who are scientists under 40 years old, with at least a Master’s or equivalent degree or research experience and attached to a university, national research institution or research-orientated NGO in a developing country. See www.ifs.se 12
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BOOK SHELF
Buy these titles at www.beesfordevelopment.org/catalog or at our shop in Monmouth, UK
Honey bee colony health Diana Sammataro & Jay A Yoder (eds) 2012 302 pages Hardcover £65.99 (€99) S120 The editors of this new book are two US bee scientists who have gathered texts written by over 60 bee researchers working world wide. The result is a unique and up-to-date guide to current avenues of research investigating honey bee health. All the major issues being studied are reviewed - each of the 21 chapters provides a clear and understandable explanation of each field under discussion. If, for example, you need to quickly comprehend the current view on the global status of honey bee mites, Chapter 5 will provide you with reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information. Fifty pages of references and an extensive index add further value to this excellent text. Very useful for apiculture researchers, students and lecturers.
The urban beekeeper - a year of bees in the city Steve Benbow 2012 304 pages Hardcover £17 (€24) B105 A beautifully produced fresh text describing Steve Benbow’s career as a modern, urban beekeeper - building up his numbers of colonies, and satisfying his obsession with bees to his present status as London’s city boy beekeeper, with his bees housed on top-notch institutions throughout the city. But Steve and his beekeeping had a more rural background, and the book describes those adventures that honed his skills in the craft. Arranged according to the beekeeping season and interspersed with good practical beekeeping tips, this book contains plenty of wisdom about honey and its creation in unconventional environments. It will surely inspire many urban beekeeping disciples.
Bees, hives, honey! Beekeeping for children Tim Rowe 2012 88 pages £18.95 (€28.45) R110 This is a great book for young beekeepers - packed with excellent quirky pictures, attractive hives, a very good level of detail, and a fun approach to beekeeping. Described here are safe and straightforward ways for children to become beekeepers, using top-bar hives and horizontal frame hives. Plenty of good advice for adults too.
The beekeeper’s lament Hannah Nordhaus 2010 269 pages £9.99 (€15) N105 Hannah Nordhaus has documented the life and work of one North American commercial beekeeper, John Miller, who trucks his bees across the USA, chasing blooming flowers and harvesting honey. Along the way the author meets researchers, attends meetings and gains excellent insight into the North American beekeeping world and the constraints faced by beekeepers. A very well written text, of interest for beekeepers and the wider public.
The beekeeper & the bee Kate Lynch 2012 79 pages Hardcover £16 (€24) L105 Kate is an artist who has worked amongst the beekeeping community in Somerset in the West of England. She has created 50 drawings in willow charcoal and paintings in oil, and these are reproduced here together with interviews with the beekeeper subjects of her work. The result is a record of a beekeeping year with all aspects of the craft represented, including skep making and how to drive bees out of skeps to harvest their honey. A beautiful and evocative book. The cover of this Journal shows one of Kate’s oil paintings.
Insect pollination of cultivated crop plants S E McGregor 2011 (reprint) 411 pages £35 (€52.50) M110 The reprint of McGregor’s text from 1976. Although it is over 30 years since original publication, this book is a marvellous guide to insect pollination and the various requirements of a wide range of crops. It is a book that we refer to often at Bees for Development: immensely useful and reliable.
The bee-kind garden - apian wisdom for your garden David Squire 2011 95 pages Hardback £10.95 (€16.45) S115 Snippets of information, folk lore and verse about bees. Interesting and beautiful black and white illustrations from yesteryear. 14
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Subscriptions available Sponsored subscriptions to Bees for Development Journal are available for resource-poor beekeepers, projects, schools and groups in developing countries. Supported with funds raised by Bees for Development Trust Name................................................................................................. What is your involvement with bees and beekeeping? .........................................................................................................
APIEXPO AFRICA 2012
3rd All-Africa Honey Exposition, 26-30 September 2012 Millennium Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The organisers invite individuals and organisations to present papers pertinent to the apiculture industry and to the theme
Beekeeping for food security & combating climate change Deadline for submission 31 July Presenters selected will be informed by 25 August
www.apitradeafrica.org/apiexpo-africa-2012.html
......................................................................................................... Organisation ..................................................................................... Postal address................................................................................... ......................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................... Country............................................................................................. E-mail address................................................................................... Date of application............................................................................. Additional copies of this form are available from our website Email journalrequest@beesfordevelopment.org Post to BfD Trust at the address below
11th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 28 September - 2 October 2012 Primula Hotel, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
With patronage from: The Sultan Mizan Foundation, the Malaysian Bee Research and Network Team and Terengganu State Government The Local Organising Committee invite you to participate Also Pre-Conference workshops commence 25 September • Honey analysis and honey tasting 4th Propolis • Apitherapy - bee sting treatment Science Forum • Progress with beekeeping development in Asia 30 September • Safe climbing techniques and the use of GPS for field navigation Organic Honey during honey hunting Forum • Nest architecture and behaviour of stingless bees
2 October
www.asianbeeconference.org/11thaaaconference ISSN 1477-6588
Telephone +44 (0)1600 714848
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