Caribbean Beekeeping Congress

Gladstone Solomon, President, Tobago Apicultural Society

Earlier this month the 10th Caribbean Congress was organised by the Association of Caribbean Beekeepers Organisations (ACBO) in St Lucia and wonderfully broadcast to a global audience, free of charge! The Congress was organised in association with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and came from Castries in St Lucia, with support from GEF, SGP and UNDP, and many organisations co-operating to fill the week with interest.

Highlights included the announcement of the production of medical grade honey from indigenous herbs and plants, by Dr Valma Jessamy of Grenada; the imminent start of a regional project to identify indigenous pollinators; the launch of a monthly ACBO Newsletter, the first issue of which was released at the start of the Congress; reports of increasing occurrence of hive theft throughout the region, and reduced honey production in some areas - attributable to climate change.