News

AZERBAIJAN

80,000-100,000 tonnes of honey are produced in Azerbaijan per annum. There are approximately 10,000 beekeepers, who have increased the number of bee colonies from 100,000 to 105,000 in the last few years. Exhibitions in Baku organised by the Ministry of Agriculture attract over 200 beekeepers from aimost every region in the country.

Source: www.capital.trendaz.com

CAMEROON

In Bimbia Bonacikombo Forest Zone the challenge has been to manage forest resources effectively for conservation and sustainable development. Beekeeping was adopted because it clearly generates income for livelihoods. Mount Cameroon Project/GTZ identified Bonakanda-Bova Beefarmers Group (BOBEEFAG) to organise training workshops and develop sustainable bee farms within the tropical region of Mount Cameroon. With the sponsorship of Mrs Lilian Etomb: Quan, BOBEEFAG extended its activities to Bimbia by developing an apiary. BOBEEFAG will implement a ten month project with the indigenous people, starting with a two day training workshop in February 2009. This workshop will bring together 50 participants and is sponsored by Limbé Ili Council-Bimbia, Cameroon Development Corporation, and Limbé Botanic Garden. Each participant will return home with a top-bar hive. A major problem is lack of information on apiculture extension.

Lyonga Mbake Samuel, Delegate-BOBEEFAG

FlJI

Concern over honey harvest

Bee farmers have been advised to move their hives to secure locations away from strong winds and flood prone areas. Farmers have been asked not to harvest honey over the next two months because this will exhaust the bees and there will be no food left for them. Farmers have been advised to top up their hives with dry sugar feeds. "Last year, we produced about 700 tonnes of honey but in 2009 it is expected there will be a shortfall of more than 100 tonnes because many bees are dead and floral vegetation has been badly disturbed,” said Kamal Prasad, National Co-ordinator for Agriculture. Over 200 hives are known to have been destroyed; this figure will rise because agriculture officers have not yet reached some areas due to road blocks and flooding.

Riteshni Singh, Fiji Times online

GHANA

This is the Beekeeping and Honey Centre at Bimponso in the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District in the Central Region. It was established by the District Beekeepers’ Association under the directorship of Richard Karikari, Gladys Mensah and Nana Yaw Adobah. A bigger centre is under construction at Twifo Praso, the District Capital. These projects are sponsored by contributions from 605 Association members, although we are seeking additional sponsorship to equip both Centres. We aim to provide a base for honey trading and beekeeping research in the District.

Richard Kwame Karikari

INDIA

Sangeeta Deol received training in apiculture and mushroom farming at Punjab Agricultural University in 1986. Sangeeta started beekeeping with 10 hives. Marketing honey was initially a problem. By 1995 her business had increased to 3,200 hives and she formed a company to sell honey. She was the first woman to receive the Farmer of India Award. Sangeeta was also commended as Punjab’s leading bee farmer with a gold medal for agricultural diversification from Punjab Agricultural University and an award from the Kisan Club for honey production. She says lack of marketing facilities for beekeepers disheartens her and excessive use of insecticides and pesticides in Punjab and neighbouring states disappoints her.

Sent by Mahindu Kumar Soni, The Tribune,

September 2008

MALAYSIA

Several Orang Asli (indigenous people) have been unwittingly exploited to sell a syrupy solution which is being passed off as honey at stalls in the Sungai Perak rest area. People were buying the amber-coloured solution, thinking that it is wild honey harvested by the Orang Asli. Universiti Malaya biochemist Kamaruddin Mohd Yusoff chanced upon the scam after testing samples of the ‘honey’ from the stalls intending to analyse the properties of wild honey harvested by the Orang Asli. Instead, he found it to be syrup that had been chemically treated to mimic the physical properties of honey. When he asked the Orang Asli people for an explanation he was told that someone had asked them to sell the product.

He said visitors often felt justified to pay high prices for the honey as they believed the product was authentic. He was worried about the repercussions of such sales, because many tourists visit the stalls. Professor Yusoff has forwarded his findings to the relevant ministry but has yet to receive a response.

Sakina Mohamed www.bernama.com

NIGERIA

May 2008 was full of beekeeping in Ketu Area of Ogun State. Potential beekeepers were identified and trained in the use of top-bar hives and provided with information supplied by BFD Trust. We now have 25 new beekeepers, and 18 have at least two tap-bar hives installed on their farms. 65% of the hives are occupied and monitored by our team in the Bees Extension Education Services (BEES). We plan to organise a beekeeping association in honour of Dr Eva Crane and hope to reach out to Ketu speakers in Benin and Nigeria. Our next training sessions are scheduled for April and July 2009. ELACODS Bee Farm bought a motorcycle for use by BEES when visiting farmers and monitoring training in the area.

Elijah Akanni Asade. BEES. Elacorns Bee Farm, flaro

PAKISTAN

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council's three year project Studies on IPM with reduced chemical approach to avoid resistance of parasitic mites, honey bee disease and pests has been successfully implemented with work on most objectives: Identification of parasitic mite distribution and behaviour, Developing a reduced chemical beekeeping management system; Breeding of resistant honey bee colonies; Assessing the combination of integrated Pest Management (IPM) control! methods; Training beekeepers; Standardising equipment. The 2nd National Training Workshop for beekeepers and scientists Hands on training on IPM of parasitic mites for sustainable beekeeping was organised by the Honey Bee Research Programme, National Agricultural Research Centre, in April 2008. Drs Ales Gregorc from Slovenia and Stephen Martin, UK international experts an bee diseases and pests were invited peakers. In April 2009 we will run another training programme with the help of resource materials donated by BfD Trust.

Dr Elizabeth Stephen, Programme Leader, Honey Bee Research Programme, Islamabad

PHILIPPINES

“For farmers, especially fruit growers, to get the most out of their crops, pollination by honey bees is the key, while beekeepers do not have to worry where their bees can feed. If the practice was implemented, farmers would not need chemicals to increase their yields, and there would be a beneficial relationship between farmers and beekeepers," said Patricio Ananayo, Chief of the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance

Division, Department of Agriculture (DA). Among the best nectar producers are chayote, Citrus sp, coffee, mango and wild sunflower. Cut flower plantations are not advisable forage areas for bees because these do not produce enough nectar. Beekeepers claim that because of lack of support from the government, development of the apiculture industry is slow, despite its potential economic contribution.

Director of the National Apiculture Research, Training and Development Institute (NARTDI), Dr Apolonio Sito, said that the apiculture sector is lagging behind because there is no Government agency to spearhead development. “The contribution of beekeeping as a key to food security and environmental conservation is not recognised," said Sito. Patricio Ananayo, Chief of the DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Services (AMAS) said the country imports 90-95% of its honey requirements whilst the DA has no specific funds to support the beekeeping industry. Dr Sito said: “Agencies are unaware of the contributions of beekeeping in terms of increasing food production and as an alternative source of livelihood. Bees are the most efficient natural pollinators and can contribute 20-40% in crop yield, however there are crops that do not attain their maximum production because of lack of pollination.”

Source www.sunstar.com.ph

Dr Sito’s report A model for provincial beekeeping in La Union, The Philippines is on the B/D website Information Centre