GUYANA
Mr. Ahnand Rajkumar writes: “The honey industry in Guyana has declined since the arrival of Africanized bees. Africanized bees were first noticed in the Rupununi district (bordering with Brazil)
ANTIGUA
Meals for Millions/Freedom from Hunger Foundation has been instrumental in providing technical and financial assistance to develop a small scale but commercially viable beekeeping project on the island. Mr. Eustace Samuel is the key beekeeper and manages over 80 hives, and there are other beekeepers with smaller numbers of hives. These are kept in the southern portion of the island—at Orange Valley and Christian Valley where nectar and floral sources are most abundant. The honey is sold in local stores and supermarkets where there is a strong demand for local honey. There are plans to increase the operation to 300 hives in the near future. (Ruth Spencer, Program Advisor, Meals for Millions)
ETHIOPIA
Mr. Alemayehu Wolde Senbet is in charge of a Beekeeping Development Project. Mr. Wolde Senbet writes: In some parts of Ethiopia many peasants are involved with beekeeping. Modern beekeeping started some years ago but
development did not reach many rural areas. Some beekeepers are only achieving low yields because of problems with disease, insect pests, wind and lack of knowledge about bee management. Honey is highly valued throughout the country by both urban and rural people; some prepare a drink from honey, but many eat honey and use it for treatments. The main objects of the Beekeeping Programme in Wolayita are to test adapted techniques at peasant level, to organise demonstration and training programmes and to improve bee product marketing. Beekeeping is a good way of development for Wolayita people who are living in very small land areas and whose farms cannot provide enough crops.
GHANA 85 people attended a five-day beekeeping workshop held in Accra, in November 1984. The workshop was organised by the
10
Technology Consultancy Centre of the University of Science and Technology, and this, the seventh such workshop, was sponsored by the Ministry of Industries, Science and Technology. Mr. Kwame Akrofi, undersecretary for the Ministry, described the potential of beekeeping as a desirable form of industry, encouraging people away from constantly importing goods and towards the development of local materials, especially for the production of beeswax urgently needed by many manufacturing industries. Mr. Nyamekye of Densu Industries Ltd, Accra, provided financial support for participants attending the workshop. Topics included beekeeping in Ghana, anatomy and physiology of the bee, traditional and Kenyan top-bar hives, apiary siting and selection, obtaining and safe-handling of bees, bee foraging and crop pollination, factors militating against the bee industry in Ghana, honey and beeswax processing, apiary management and demonstrations of honey harvesting and beeswax extraction. (Mr. Stephen Adjare, Ghana Bee News)
in 1974, and by 1976 they were found throughout the country. Some efforts were made to sustain honey production by the importation of mated Italian queen bees from the United States but this was not followed through. As a result, colonies became Africanized and beekeepers abandoned them. Other factors responsible for the slump in honey production were: (a) Beekeepers were not aware of the management techniques required for Africanized bees, and hence they did not know how to cope with them. (b) Before the arrival of Africanized bees, beekeeping was in most cases a secondary source of income, and was largely a backyard industry with members of the family assisting. Such apiaries have been done away with. Last year, the Beekeepers Association founded in 1932, was reactivated after nearly four years dormancy, and many new faces were present.”
Mr. Rajkumar goes
on to say I to a beekeeping fami“although belong
I only became interested in beekeeping after the arrival of Africanized bees. Then and now I find it a pleasure to capture swarms or established colonies of Africanized bees. There is an old saying that once you have been stung you cannot be cured. Bees are now an inseparable part of me and I have grown to love and learn a lot from them”.
ly,
Participants at the 7th National Workshop on Beekeeping, Accra, Ghana, try their hands at extracting beeswax by the hot bath method.
