Caribbean beekeepers

The Caribbean Apicultural Development Association (CADA) was formally established in Castries, Saint Lucia, on 13 May 1992, during the First Regional Training Workshop for Beekeepers. The formation of this new body was one of several resolutions directed towards the development of the beekeeping industry in the Caribbean.

IBRA’s Fifth International. Conference on Apiculture in Tropical Climates will be held at University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago from 7-12 September. This will provide an excellent opportunity for CADA to meet and for new members to join. For further details of this contact Fifth International Conference on Apiculture in Tropical Climates, Ministry pf Food Production and Marine Exploitation, Trinidad.

The Workshop (11-13 May) was attended by 56 beekeepers and officials from 19 nations.

Presentations were made on the current status of beekeeping in the respective countries. A number of important issues were highlighted:

1. The weakness or non-existence of beekeeping organisations at the national level and the need for a regional body to co-ordinate the development of the industry.

2. The threat of Africanized bees, bee parasites and diseases, and the need for common legislation to control and support the development of beekeeping enterprises.

3. Insufficient control on the importation of queen bees, honey, hive products and equipment poses a direct threat to the privileged pest and disease-free status of most of the region. This creates opportunities for number of apiculture- related projects which will create rural employment opportunities:

a) queen rearing, since we have the genetic material best adapted to our environmental conditions;

b) local manufacturing of beekeeping equipment;

c) marketing of hive products;

d ) speciality marketing of Caribbean honey taking advantage of the high quality of the region's honey as evidenced by gold medals won in international competitions.

4. The need to integrate beekeeping into the diverse environmental and agro-forestry initiatives underway in the region so as to strengthen their potential for becoming self- sustaining enterprises.

This First Regional Training Workshop for Beekeepers was sponsored by the Inter- American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) as one regional activity in celebration of its 50th Anniversary. The event was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Forestry in Saint Lucia. Financial assistance for the costs of some 30 participants was provided by Barclays plc, the USAID-funded Environmental and Coastal Resources Project (ENCORE) and the Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action (FAVACA).

The Caribbean Apicultural Development Association has five member Steering Committee consisting of the Chairman, Abudu Jaima Antigua and Barbuda, jorge Murillo Yepes Grenada, Daniel Pesante Puerta Rico, Rupert Gajadhar Saint Lucia, and M K Hallim Trinidad and Tobago.

A Newsletter is planned for CADA. For details or contributions contact Dr Daniel Pesante, University of Puerto Rico, Animal Science Department, Puerto Rico.