News

ST KITTS AND NEVIS

Beekeeping inspector checks Nevis bees

Mr Laurence Cutts, Senior Beekeeping Inspector for the State of Florida, USA, recently visited Nevis to advise local beekeepers on pests and diseases and Africanization of their bees. His journey and accommodation were funded by the Florida Aid Agency FAVA/CA to whom Nevis Beekeepers are very grateful.

While Mr Cutts is impressed that Nevis is pest and disease free and that, subject to laboratory confirmation, there appears to be no Africanization of Nevis bees, he is very concerned that Nevis bees will soon have these problems. He warned Nevis Beekeepers that Africanized bees had taken hold Puerto Rico, St Croix, Trinidad and probably in Dominican Republic and Haiti as well.

If Africanized bees were to come to St Kitts or Nevis they could

- Seriously threaten the tourist industry;

- Ruin thriving local beekeeping industry on both islands, with unique export industries based on honey and beeswax;

- End the possibility of raising queen bees for export.

Africanized bees have found their way to Caribbean Islands as swarms on container ships. They cluster between the containers and come ashore at any port of call. There is also danger that these swarms, or bees brought into St Kitts and Nevis by other means, carry Varroa.

As well as the above named islands Varroa mite is known to be on Grenada, because beekeepers from that island imported queens with infested attendant bees from the USA. There is no cure for Varroa and control is very costly.

Other bee diseases to be wary of, and not found in Nevis bees by Mr Cutts, are American foulbrood and European foulbrood (brood diseases that can be carried in honey for example honey imported from countries whose bees have these diseases) and tracheal mite.

Laurence Cutts pointed out that if diseased or Africanized bees found their way into either St Kitts or Nevis they would spread, by flying across The Narrows to the sister island. It is important that sharp and watchful eye be kept on sea port facilities in Nevis and St Kitts.

J Quentin Henderson

Source: The St Kitts-Nevis Observer October 1996

MEXICO

The Proceedings of the Ninth American Conference of Apiculture are now published. They contain papers on Africanized honeybees, pathology, stingless bees and honey production. Sixteen papers in Spanish, five in English.

Available from: Programa Nacional Para El Control de la Abeja Africana, Mexico

SOUTH AFRICA

The “Hail of Fame” is an annual award to recognise those whose work has uplifted agriculture in South Africa. In 1996 it was won for the first time by beekeeper, Philimon Modileng.

Philimon is remarkable entrepreneur who succeeded despite great difficulties. He began beekeeping at age 13 in 1950, working for a commercial beekeeper.

In 1973 he started his own bee farm, beginning with just 12 hives. Today he regarded as the most successful beekeeper in South Africa, running 3200 colonies, and employing eight people. Average production is 90 tonnes of honey per year.

Philimon Modileng's career has been difficult, He had to deal with the aggressive apartheid years. Travelling around the country, Philimon did not experience too many problems with the authorities as the police force considered that all beekeepers were white. White beekeepers used black labourers to transport their hives all over the country and whenever Philimon came to a road block, he was summoned to carry on. The police were not wanting to entertain a truck loads of bees. Philimon had to also contend with farmers who could not accept him.

About his time Philimon had to deal with the arrival of the Cape bee. This was a shattering period when 2800 of his colonies were destroyed. Left with 400, he managed to increase to 3000 colonies once again. Being in Bophuthatswana, Philimon could not benefit from the Government subsidy being enjoyed by his South African counterparts. Philimon could hardly cope with this episode and his finances were dwindling.

After the 1994 elections representation was made to the authorities: permission was granted to allow Philimon to receive assistance in the same way as the others. This led to mischief amongst some beekeepers who poisoned whole apiary belonging to Philimon. Vandalism is experienced by many bee farmers in South Africa: hives are sometimes totally destroyed.

If these curses were not enough, Philimon wot further 2000 colonies during 1995 to the Cape bee. Nevertheless he is not broken and looks forward to being involved in developing new beekeepers in the new dispensation of this land.

During the Bophuthatswana homeland rule, the authorities requested Philimon to work for them as an apicultural advisor. Being very sceptical of this position, Philimon declined. He felt that during rough time the Government would rebuke him by laying him off, not realising that it was the forage decline and not his management. He knows how to run his business and he knows the pitfalls: he wanted to realise his own destiny. Philimon plans to retire in few years.

For me to have interviewed Philimon at his home in Makapanstad was great and experience it gives me pleasure to announce that Philimon is the first beekeeper in South Africa to have been recognised in the Agricultural “Hall of Fame".

Eddy Lear, Chairman South African Federation of Bee Farmers’ Association

INVESTING MONEY IN HONEY

by Merlin Willcox, Voluntary Representative for Shared Interest

Many people have some money which they wish to put aside for later in life. Wouldn't it be wonderful to invest it in a way which helps to create or sustain jobs for poorer people? This is possible inthe United Kingdom thanks to an organisation called “Shared Interest”.

People in the UK become members of Shared Interest by investing 100 or more, and they can get their money back by return of post when they need it. The interest rate is 1.75%, but many members choose to waive their interest. There is also the option of investing in loan stock 2000 or more for five years with 0% interest, guaranteed by the Co-operative Bank. This is just the type of long-term funding needed by many projects in developing countries.

The money is channelled to borrowers in two ways. Firstly, some is lent through The Ecumenical Development Co-operative Society. This organisation finances projects which contribute to the social and economic advancement of poor communities. Secondly, Shared Interest lends money to Fair Trade organisations such as Traidcraft, Oxfam and Tropical Forest Products. So when Zambian beekeepers part with their honey and wax, they can be paid quickly, rather than having to wait for six months or a year until the honey is sold in Europe

Tropical Forest Products was set up by David Wainwright, British beekeeper, to import honey from Zambia and Tanzania. No one else in the UK had been willing to buy it. The rich, dark, strongly flavoured honey had been classed as “industrial grade” by buyers who believed that the British only like light, flowery honeys. Luckily for David and his African colleagues, the pundits turned out to be wrong.

The honey is bought from a co-operative of beekeepers made up of about 360 village groups, each of these with about ten members. Everyone places hives in the forest - hollowed trunks and tubes made of bark are hung in the trees and are colonised by bees. One of the biggest problems the beekeepers is transporting honey out of the forest to the villages. The honey is packed in 30 kg buckets and these have to be carried by bicycle or on the beekeepers’ head for 15-30 km. In the past, during a bumper harvest, the market price of honey would drop so that it was not worthwhile to carry the honey very far. The old beekeepers tell of squeezing the honey on to the forest floor and only keeping the valuable beeswax. Now the co-operative has helped by providing steady price for as much honey and beeswax as the beekeeper is prepared to carry out of the forest.

The Zambian beekeepers need income to pay for schooling and health care. These are no longer free in Zambia. But money is not always the most appropriate payment in the middle of the forest, where they are no shops. So the co-operative’s buyers bring much needed goods such as blankets and salt when they come to collect honey. The beekeepers can choose to buy these with the cash they get from selling their honey.

The beekeepers do not harvest honey just for export, most is consumed in the forest where it is produced or in local towns. When the crop is small there is not much honey available from export. Tropical Forest Products becomes important in years when there is bumper harvest to provide a market for the surplus. This is where Shared Interest comes in, by providing financial back-up to enable Tropical Forest Products to buy as much honey and beeswax as the beekeepers can produce.

For investors, the financial returns from Shared Interest may not be record- breaking, but the social returns certainly are. I do not now know of any other investment where so little money can create and sustain so many decent jobs, in parts of the world that need them so much.

If you would like more information or an application form for membership, please write to: Shared Interest, United Kingdom