News

ARGENTINA

Sweet success

High-quality honey -6000kg of it daily - are now being processed in a plant run by young people in Marull, in Argentina’s Córdoba Province.

The plant was built as part of an apiculture project financed through the IDB’s Small Projects Program and carried out by the Federation of Cooperative Farm Youth Centers of Sancor. It went into full production in April.

The project also includes the provision of credits to over 200 young, low income farmers in the provinces of Santa Fé, Cérdoba and Entre Rios to establish apiaries and_ extraction chambers.

(IDB News, July 1987)

BERMUDA

Beekeeping will never rival tourism as Bermuda’s largest industry, but it is an important source of pleasure and extra income for some 30-35 Bermudians, and there are over 500 colonies on the island. Each is capable of producing approximately 8-12 gallons of honey a year. Last year (1986) was exceptionally good and most colonies produced excellent honey crops. Honeybees, of course, are also important for pollinating some plants and without them we could not grow cucumbers, squash, pumpkins or melons.

Concern about an apparent surplus of Bermuda honey last fall prompted the drafting of a questionnaire to try to quantify the supply situation as well as gather ideas on a range of topics, including how to deal with any surplus honey. The response rate was not as high as I had hoped but, nevertheless, some important information emerged. A detailed report was presented at the May meeting of the Bermuda Beekeepers Association. What follows is brief summary.

Among the respondents, unsold honey ranged from zero to one-third of their harvest. The total amount of unsold honey in storage at this time (June) is approximately 515 gallons. This represents perhaps less than one quarter of the total harvested crop.

Honey use follows this pattern: beekeepers with just one or two hives generally report keeping their honey for private use and using it for gifts. Most beekeepers who do sell their honey, sell it to friends and neighbours. Only a few supply supermarkets. One beekeeper sells direct to the public at a roadside stand. None reported supplying gift shops and none advertise except by word of mouth.

A beekeepers’ costs average $50 per hive per year after the initial start-up costs for equipment. New equipment for one hive (2 hive bodies, 4 shallow supers, frames, foundation, bottom board and inner and outer covers) costs $275. In addition, the beginner needs a bee suit, veil, gloves, smoker, hive tool, etc — another $150-$200. Honey extractors are $250 and up. Jars and labels can run up to $35 per year per hive. Labour requirements average 10-15 hours per hive per year.

Though expenditures and yield both vary from year to year, Table 1* presents the general economics of beekeeping in Bermuda.

The remainder of the questionnaire dealt with possible courses of action for dealing with a honey surplus. Lowering the price of Bermuda honey was unacceptable to the majority of beekeepers (60% ), even if by so doing an embargo could be imposed on the importation of honey. The current law which allows the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries to place embargoes on imported vegetables requires that the price of the local product be comparable to imported material.

Raising the import duty on imported honey from 11.2% to 22.5% was rejected by 60% as being of doubtful benefit to Bermuda beekeepers. Most would like to see it raised even more and several suggested it be raised to make imported and local honey comparable in price.

There was very little interest expressed in spending more time and money on marketing local honey, though one respondent observed that our honey is “one of a very few true Bermuda products that is affordable, durable, and is underutilized as a local souvenir”.

Clearly there is a surplus of local honey this year and the situation could get worse when the next crop starts to come in. There is no consensus among beekeepers about how to deal with this situation. Most are not willing to lower the price of honey and I think the brief economic analysis in Table 1* shows there are no windfall profits being made in the business. One reason for this is the cost of equipment which is unusually high due to shipping charges and a 22.5% duty. In fact, only when one ignores the beekeeper's own labour are reasonable profits being made.

The majority of beekeepers, quite naturally suppose, favour the easiest solution - that is, have Government raise the duty on imported honey so that its price is comparable to the local product. I have discussed this with a representative of the Ministry of Finance, and this is not likely to happen, though a rise from 11.2% to 22.5% might be possible if Properly justified. My own feeling about this approach is that the benefit to Bermuda beekeepers is outweighed by the cost to the Bermuda public. I believe there is a better solution.

What is needed is a new market for our honey, and I believe our tourists could provide one. Virtually all our honey is now sold to residents. It is bottled in gallons, litres, and 1 and 2lb jars. Many of us are willing to pay a premium for it because we feel it is superior to the imported varieties. It should be since it is made from the nectar of different plants. I believe we should capitalize on this difference and market our honey to tourists as a Bermuda souvenir.

In order to do this, we need to bottle it in much smaller containers and label it “Bermuda Tropical Wildflower Honey’, or something similar, to indicate that it is a different product from what they are used to buying off the supermarket shelf. The label should also have postcard-like qualities (flowers, beaches, etc), so that it brings back pleasant memories of their vacation every time they see the jar. Honey is also an ideal gift (almost everyone likes it), and if attractively packaged and properly promoted, it would make a good Bermuda gift to buy for the “folks back home’.

* Please see the original journal article for Table 1: Beekeeping in Bermuda - Cost Estimates.

(Daniel J Hilburn, Monthly Bulletin, Department of Agriculture & Fisheries, Bermuda, August 1987)

BRAZIL

Associagao Caxiense de Apicultures (ASCAP) has 400 Members in the Caxias do Sul region. Beekeeping in this area has developed well during the last 10 years, using a productive strain of Africanized bees whose aggressiveness is tolerable. The last honey harvest was poor due mainly to heavy rains throughout the flowering season from August to February; the honey price at present is US$1.5 per Kg. The hardest problem now facing beekeepers in this region is the presence of the Varroa mite. The Association runs 19 different beekeeping courses, a shop selling equipment at reduced prices, and generally promotes the use of bee products. Monthly meetings and an annual honey fair are arranged.

(Delvino Peruffo, Secretary, ASCAP, Caxias do Sul)

COSTA RICA

The Social Progress Trust Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank has provided US$500 000 for a credit and technical assistance program to benefit 300 small-scale farmers in the Los Santos area. The financing will be used by the Centro Agricola Cantonal de Terraza (CACT) to provide credits to beekeepers and fruit growers.

(IDB News, April-May 1987)

GHANA

In Newsletter No 8 (March 1986) the

“Bekyemplant was described. This plant is used by villagers in Ekumfi District to subdue bees. The plant has now been identified by the Chemistry Department of the University of Science and Technology as Adania lobata. The villagers cut stalks of this plant, 10-11 inches in length. The crushed stalks are then placed near to the hive entrance, and within 10 minutes the bees appear to be dead. However, 20 minutes later the bees have recovered and are flying about normally.

(Stephen Adjare, TCC, University of Science & Technology, Kumasi)

MOZAMBIQUE

The National Beekeeping Programme in Mozambique is now five years old. It has passed through ups and downs to teach the stage it is now at. The programme conducts the following:

• Short and long courses to elementary and traditional beekeepers

• The manufacture of beekeeping equipment and protectives

• Extension services to beekeepers

• Sale of bee products

The objectives of the programme have been satisfactorily implemented considering the existing economical bottlenecks existing in Mozambique.

We have completed a short handbook (in Portuguese) which proves very helpful both to adults and children, The handbook is full of cartoons (to leave a lasting mental impression), and covers basic beekeeping management, the three types of hives used in Mozambique (top-bar hive, transitional hive and movable frame hive), equipment, how many hives to start with (not more than five), how to catch a swarm, harvest honey and build an extractor. Finally the handbook gives nutritional information - did you know that 1 Kg of honey is equivalent in calorific value to 40 oranges?

(Mathew Kawa, Apiculture Programme, Maputo)

PERU

With the installation of 6,000 beehives and the production of 60,000kg of honey, a program to assist small-scale farmers in Peru’s Department of Lambayeque is off to a successful start.

The program is being carried out by the non-profit National Development Foundation with US$400,000 in Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) financing for subloans and a $70,000 grant for technical assistance.

According to the foundation's director, Alfredo Bellatin, 421 beekeepers had joined the program by last year, and they had received credits equivalent to $395,000. The project has succeeded in transferring marketing and technical assistance tasks to the producers themselves through the formation of various committees.

Project beneficiaries will produce an estimated $150,000 of honey, pollen and wax in the present 1986-1987 season.

The project, in which the Inter-American Foundation also participated, resulted in the establishment of an apiculture training school in the town of Illimo. In addition, the project has stimulated the local production of beekeeping equipment such as hives, centrifuges, and clothing. The benefits of the project have been further multiplied through the initiation of similar activities in other areas.

(IDB News, February 1987)

TOGO

23 participants representing those involved with beekeeping in Togo attended a 2-day seminar in June in Sokodé. This was the first such meeting and it was agreed that a Beekeeping Association should now be formed.

(Mr Daniel Ponchant, Conseils Gestion Afrique Togo, Initiatives des Communautés de Base)

WESTERN SAMOA

A West German company, Karl Bergmann KG has recently won an award for promoting ACP-EEC joint enterprise. Karl Bergmann KG is a major honey importer in West Germany, a country with the highest per capita consumption of honey in Europe. Bergmann recently invested in a joint venture with a Western Samoa partner. A new company was formed in Western Samoa, and with sponsorship from CDI (Centre for Development of Industry), Bergmann trained local staff in harvesting, quality control, packing and bee breeding. The project is now operating successfully and honey is supplied to both local and European markets. The operation has aroused a great deal of interest in Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Jamaica and Karl Bergmann KG is now negotiating in each of these countries to set up similar joint ventures.

(CDI Industrial Opportunities, No 56, July-August 1987)