Bees for Development Journal Edition 99 - June 2011

ISSUE NO 99, JUNE 2011

BEE EVACUATOR FINANCE FOR HONEY TRADE TSUNAMI AND BEES PROFITABILITY OF APIS MELLIFERA MAKING TRAINING APPROPRIATE WWW.BEESFORDEVELOPMENT.ORG

COVER PHOTO © FRANC SIVIC

Bees for Development Journal 99

DEAR FRIENDS

Bf D is concerned with assisting beekeepers to make good business from their beekeeping. On pages 8 and 9, this edition brings a useful review of the profitability of beekeeping with European Apis mellifera honey bees in Vietnam and compares data with an article that we published long ago in BfD Journal 16 in 1994 - it seems that as long as you can meet the start-up costs - beekeeping with Apis mellifera in Vietnam has become more profitable.

From Africa we profile a Kenyan woman entrepreneur, Ms Miriam Chaabari, who is making excellent business from honey (page 11), and from Uganda, an explanation of just how hard it can be for rural producer groups to locate credit for their honey trade (page 5).

Our cover picture is by award-winning Slovenian beekeeper-photographer Franc Sívic. This shows in close-up a fully loaded pollen basket on the leg of a Carniolan bee Apis mellifera carnica. The pollen is from dandelion Taraxacum officinale.

ISSUE No 99 June 2011 In this issue

page

Practical beekeeping - how to make a bee evacuator..................................3 Access to finance for rural honey trade ..................................................5 Appropriate training for beekeepers ....7 Profitability of Apis mellifera in Vietnam .............................................8 Caribbean Update.............................10 News around the World ....................10 Apitrade Africa .................................10 Look & Learn Ahead/Notice Board ....12 Bookshelf.........................................14 Notice Board ....................................15

BfD Journal

Publisher Bees for Development Published quarterly and distributed to readers in over 130 countries Editor Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator Helen Jackson BSc Subscriptions cost £26 per year - see page 15 for ways to pay Readers in developing countries: apply for a sponsored subscription using the form on page 16 or through our website Bf D Trust UK Registered Charity1078803 works to assist beekeepers in developing countries.To become a Trust Supporter please see page 15 or visit www.beesfordevelopment.org

Bees for Development Post

PO Box 105 Monmouth NP25 9AA, UK Phone +44 (0)16007 13648 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org

From the Caribbean, Gladstone Solomon describes on page 10 the apparent current decline in beekeeping - a major reason being the disappearance of suitable apiary sites. Last year Bf D combined with Apimondia to raise funds for beekeepers in Haiti affected by the earthquake, and many people are expressing concern for beekeepers in Japan, and how they have managed following the earthquake and Tsunami. We can now provide the update below from Ms Hitomi Enomoto of AAA and Tamagawa University. * the next edition is our 100th! If you have a successful story to share - please do send it for inclusion.

Beekeeping in Japan hit by disaster

As a result of the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan on 11 March 2011, damage caused to the Fukushima nuclear power plant has led to a 20 km evacuation zone around the plant. The exclusion of traffic and the breakdown in petrol supplies has prevented many beekeepers from gaining access to their bees. Mr Mizuhisa Fujiwara is the third generation of a beekeeping family in Akita Prefecture and is a regular supplier of honey to Tamagawa University Bookstore.

Mr Fujiwara’s colonies are currently in several out-apiaries for overwintering and ready to start up early for fruit tree pollination including apple, cherry and peach. A major nectar flow from Robinia pseudoacacia will begin in late May. Many beekeepers want to know what to do with their bees as the beekeeping season begins. Japan’s Beekeepers’ Association (JBA) has received many enquiries from members, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (MAFF) had nothing to refer to on honey bees and radiation when this serious incident occurred.

Professor Jun Nakamura, Secretary General of the Asian Apicultural Association (AAA), at the Honeybee Science Research Centre at Tamagawa University was consulted by both MAFF and JBA on this unexpected situation. With a scintillation counter he visited Iwaki City to meet Mr Fujiwara and check his colonies.

Professor Nakamura reports that the Livestock Hygiene Service Center of South Soma is helping beekeepers to evacuate their colonies and providing them with disease-free certificates on site. JBA understands that there are still 1,500 colonies within the power plant evacuation zone.

Hitomi Enomoto, AAA Co-ordinator, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan

Copyright: You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in BfDJ as part of our Information Service.

Permission is given on the understanding that BfDJ and author(s) are acknowledged, Bf D contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item or the website address where it is used.

SUPPORT: Bees for Development Trust acknowledge: Panta Rhea Foundation, Synchronicity Foundation and the many beekeeping groups and individuals who support our work. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to help.

PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING

Bees for Development Journal 99

HOW TO MAKE A BEE EVACUATOR Keywords: honey bee management, Nigeria, West Africa

In BfDJ 93 Isiaka Salawu described his method of making protective headgear for beekeepers. Here he describes another piece of equipment - the bee evacuator.

A bee evacuator is designed to collect bees from a location where their presence poses a problem to humans and the bees. This could be in house walls, tree holes, ceilings in houses and other locations regularly occupied by bees.

PHOTOS © ISIAKA A SALAWU

Isiaka A Salawu, PFHG, Federal Government Girls’ College, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

Advantages

A bee evacuator offers these advantages: 1. Prompt evacuation of bees from environments where they may be regarded as a threat to humans.

2. An evacuation method which does not destroy the bees or their nest.

3. Evacuated bee colonies can be used as foundation stock for starting or increasing beekeeping, or sold to another beekeeper.

4. A service can be offered to individuals and organisations on a fee paying basis.

Materials

3 mm iron rods or flat bars 1 m nylon net Use of an oxy-acetylene or electric welder

Procedure

STEP I: Take the light iron rods or flat bars to the welder and cut them into four groups as follows: • 4-6 pieces 30 cm in length • 4-6 pieces 10 cm in length • 2 pieces 220 cm in length • 1 piece 22 cm in length

STEP 2: The pieces of 220 cm rod or flat bar should be turned into circular rings 30 cm in diameter. Using the rings to form the two ends of a cylindrical frame, weld the 6 pieces of 30 cm rods or flat bars at regular intervals (about 5 cm) to each other. Equal numbers of rods and flat bars should be used, that is 2 iron rods with 2 flat bars or 3 iron rods with 3 flat bars. This will ensure rigidity of the evacuator.

Isiaka Salawu and his bee evacuator

STEP 6

STEP 3: Weld the other 6 pieces of 10 cm rods or flat bars at the top end of the cylinder. An equal number of rods and flat bars again must be used.

Sew the nylon in two pieces: • One as a cylindrical sack 32 cm in diameter and 22 cm long.

• One in a funnel shape 32 cm in diameter at base and 5 cm at the extreme end.

STEP 4: Bend the rods or flat bars inwards to make a ring 3 cm in diameter at the extreme end.

STEP 5: Weld the extreme end of the 10 cm rods or flat bars in Step 4 to the 3 cm diameter ring to create the mouth of the evacuator.

Note: In this design, the iron rods and flat bars were used in the ratio of 2:2.

Mouth

Two pieces of nylon net are required

The metal frame for the bee evacuator 3

Bees for Development Journal 99

PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING

STEP 7

4. Make a small hole in line with the outlet at the rear of the wall or tree (you may prefer to wear a protective suit for this).

• Slide the metallic cylinder into the net sack.

• Superimpose the funnel shaped net ensuring that the base overlaps.

• Sew the two pieces together at the join.

5. Using a smoker, puff smoke into the wall or tree through the new hole.

Observation

The bees will try to escape through their familiar exit leading them into the evacuator. Once all the bees are in the evacuator your assistant should carry off the evacuator, sealing the mouth with the extra fold of netting to prevent the bees from escaping.

Transferring bees into a hive

Using a hand sprayer, spray the bees in the evacuator with fresh clean water until their wings are too wet for them to flap. At this juncture, the bees should be transferred into a hive which then can be taken to a suitable location for management.

Facts about swarming

• Swarming bees rarely sting.

• Prior to swarming, bees eat a lot of honey to sustain them through the journey. The engorgement of their abdomen caused by the honey makes it difficult for the bees to assume a stinging posture.

• When a colony alights on a wall or tree trunk in a residential area it is usually only a temporary stop-over. As soon as scout bees return with a report on a suitable location, the colony will move on.

• The colony could be sprayed with fresh, cool water, and then brushed into a hive or other container and appropriately re-housed in an apiary or given or sold to a beekeeper.

Never kill a bee

Bees are the symbol of survival of the human race, helping to guarantee food security and sustaining our good health.

The completed bee evacuator

How to use the evacuator

Preliminary activities

1. Advise your clients to be calm and that the bees are their friends.

They must not attempt to destroy them with insecticides or fire.

2. Study the bees to ascertain how long they have been at the location.

3. Check whether the bees are using more than one outlet (entry and exit points) and seal all except the most prominent: it is better if there is just one opening.

4. Once you have confirmed that the bees can use only one entrance and exit point the evacuation must be carried out in the evening when most of the foraging worker bees will have returned to the location.

The bee evacuator in action

Amendment

Evacuation exercise

The corrected reference for the article published on page 3 of BfD Journal 98 is:

1. You will need an assistant dressed in a protective suit.

2. Use a smoker to puff smoke on to the bees at the outlet.

KEBEDE,A.; EJIGU,K.; TASSEW,A. (2011) Dividing honey bee colonies in Ethiopia. Bees for Development Journal 98: 3.

3. Ask your assistant to place the mouth of the evacuator over the outlet.

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Bees for Development Journal 99

ACCESS TO FINANCE FOR RURAL HONEY TRADE Keywords: co-operative, credit, honey harvesting, KABECOS, loan application, risk, trade, Uganda

Bees for Development’s Comic Relief-funded Uganda Honey Trade Project is working in Kamwenge in south-west Uganda with a beekeepers’ co-operative society (KABECOS) to increase people’s incomes. By serving as a bulking and marketing intermediary organisation, the aim is for KABECOS to access higher value national or international markets where the honey price per kilogram should be higher, and where larger volumes of honey are needed and are readily absorbed. The costs (mostly of transport) for getting products to market are more manageable when shared, and the steady demand from more distant markets should inspire an increase in production as people gain confidence that there is a serious, reliable market for their honey. The Project is now facing directly the challenges that hold up rural African honey trade.

PHOTOS © BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Elizabeth McLeod, Bees for Development, PO Box 105, Monmouth, NP25 9AA, UK

The need for financial services

Honey harvesting is a seasonal activity: in Kamwenge harvests are during February-April and September. During these periods KABECOS must be able to purchase enough honey for the whole year. In a recent survey KABECOS members expressed a universal preference for cash payment on delivery of their honey, rather than the current system of payment at a later date when onward sale by KABECOS is complete. In addition, honey purchases in September 2010 were very low compared to previous years’ records – possibly due to adverse weather. KABECOS noted that members were selling honey to local beer brewers, because they pay cash for honey, albeit only ever taking small quantities.

KABECOS and Bees for Development: working together to increase incomes

is a long history of failed agricultural banks in developing countries.

Fundamentally the problem from the banks’ perspective concerns lack of reliable information in these sectors. Small businesses are hard to value if they do not keep comprehensive records or own valuable assets. Agricultural output may be jeopardised 100% by the weather, rainfall (or lack of it), pests and diseases, and all of these factors are impossible to predict. This makes such risks difficult to quantify and consequently difficult for banks to deal with through their normal approaches of risk pooling and setting aside capital. In addition, if small loans are administered in the same way as large ones, the banks’ costs may be higher than its returns.

Why it is hard to access finance for honey trading

Access is growing fast through mobile phones and other channels but the penetration of financial services in Uganda is low. Only 15% of people in rural areas of Uganda have bank accounts, although a further 54% of the rural population has some level of interaction with financial services – the majority using informal sources, for example a group saving and lending scheme with no legal status, a money lender or an employer.[1] On top of this, small businesses and agricultural lending are traditionally regarded as high risk for financial institutions and there

The low quality of financial services on offer is another significant reason for their low uptake in Uganda. Convenience and affordability are essential to the accessibility of financial products.[2] But the application for a loan to finance just 0.5 tonnes of honey purchasing in Kamwenge took three full months (from an initial meeting on 6 January to loan

Members of KABECOS with Elizabeth McLeod (right)

Beekeepers want a good price for their honey

The full costs of loan applications are high

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approval on 4 April), and imposed indirect costs on KABECOS as follows:

6. Costs of staff time in co-ordinating and following up all of the above were also significant.

On top are the direct loan charges made by the bank, totalling UGX105,000 (€30.75; US$44.30) (over 5% of the loan value): • Application fee 30,000 (€8,77; US$12.63) • Loan arrangement fee 40,000 (€11.68; US$16.84) • Loan insurance 20,000 (€5.85; US$8.42) • Credit bureau card 15,000 (€4.39; US$6.32)

1. Time of Board members: • Meeting of all nine Board members to pass a resolution to open an account with the bank offering a loan • Two Board members filling out forms and providing passport photos in application to be signatories to the account • Meeting again of all Board members to pass a resolution specifically authorising this loan application (although a resolution covering loan applications already existed).

These costs are all incurred before loan approval, which is not guaranteed, so they may lead to nothing.

2. Expenses of Board members in the above.

Expensive loan

3. Cost of transport for the loans officer to physically inspect the land offered as collateral.

An effective annual interest rate of 42% is payable on the outstanding loan balance. Accessing large amounts of finance at this cost (even if it were possible) would be unaffordable. However, the small maximum size of the bank’s initial loan offer means that Kabecos already has enough honey in stock to finance its repayments.

4. Costs of getting the chair person of ‘Local Council One’, a legally recognised council of elders, to verify that the land title is good.

5. Costs of staff time spent at the bank: • Director, KABECOS: seven meetings • Business Development Officer, KABECOS: six meetings.

[1] [2]

Providing information on access to finance

SYNOVATE Ltd (2010) FinScope II 2009 Findings. Unpublished report.

PORTEOUS,D. (2004) Making finance work for the poor. Unpublished report.

Rwenzori honey

APPROPRIATE TRAINING FOR BEEKEEPERS Clive de Bruyn, 22 Millwrights, Tiptree, Essex C05 0lQ, UK Keywords: development, legislation, LIDEFO, local knowledge, pollination, Uganda

work they were trying to do and they requested a summary of my circumstances and qualifications. The result of which was my visit to Kasese in December 2010 to see what could be done.

The word Appropriate is defined as ‘suitable for the occasion or circumstances’, and this is my theme for this article. I spent December 2010 in Uganda working with subsistence farmers in a rural community.

Kasese lies at the base of the Rwenzori Mountains which has snow capped peaks despite lying on the equator. A short distance away lies the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The district is one of the poorest areas in Uganda, and this region has struggled with development compared with other parts of the country. I was told by the LIDEFO Founder and Director, Daniel Ngangasi, that the first secondary school in Kasese was built only in 1975, while other parts of the country, like the capital Kampala, had these schools in 1875. Farming is the principal occupation and everyone seemed to have a small plot of land to grow their own food. Most people work on the land, even young children.

LIDEFO

In Autumn 2010 I was approached by Liberty Development Foundation (LIDEFO) who plan to advance beekeeping and honey processing activities in the area around Kasese. Their stated aim is to persuade people - especially those with the fewest resources – to take up beekeeping because of its ability to be a source of income with minimal labour and capital investment. They were looking for technical support to achieve their goals. I exchanged several e-mails with LIDEFO about the 6

PHOTO © CLIVE DE BRUYN

Bees for Development Journal 99

Freshly picked fruit for sale

Class at Bugoye

In UK supermarkets the fruit and vegetables are clean, nicely shaped without blemish, often sealed in plastic and with hardly any taste. In Kasese the food is rough, misshaped, pock marked, but freshly picked and the taste is sublime.

There are few diseases with which local races of African honey bees are unable to cope. There is still ample space for people and bees. The issue of a swarm in Africa is not a cause for panic but hopefully another colony of bees to look after. Yes, the bees may be defensive but rural people are more tolerant of wildlife. The bees can be kept away from dwellings where they might be a nuisance. Training people to keep bees in such circumstances is completely different from anything I taught in the UK.

Advice that is appropriate

From my time as the County Beekeeping Instructor at Writtle Agricultural College in the UK I know that not everyone is cut out to be a beekeeper. In my early days I naively thought I could turn anyone into a beekeeper. I soon learned that I would be doing a good job for the craft if I could persuade certain individuals to buy their honey and not keep bees personally.

Appropriate presentations

Equally methods of keeping bees suited to local people and their resources in rural Africa may not be right in the UK. In either instance any schooling given should be appropriate to the students, the available resources and the environment. A focus on people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses pays dividends. A classroom of academic students in a lecture theatre in a college might well tolerate “death by PowerPoint”. A group of practical farmers sitting in the open under the shade of a tree listening to my words, translated line by line, is a completely different proposition.

In the UK I see little point in anyone keeping bees without looking after them. Honey bees in the UK can suffer from many diseases which have to be monitored and, in some cases, treated. Our island is heavily populated and honey bee swarms cause concern for neighbours who are not beekeepers. It is also antisocial to keep bad tempered bees who might wreak their vengeance on innocent passers by.

My advice to anyone wishing to become a beekeeper is to attend a course. Also to learn something about the fascinating natural history of bees and get stung a few times before acquiring bees. I feel that this advice is appropriate to the situation in the UK. Legislation exists that renders certain diseases notifiable, so it is in all beekeepers’ interests to know about disease and to be able to check the health of their colonies. Legislation also exists to prevent bees becoming a nuisance.

Happily such incidents are rare. However, the press thrives on disaster and the bad publicity of people being stung reflects on apiarists everywhere. In some countries keeping bees within city limits is banned.

The rural communities I met could be reached only as a pillion passenger on a boda-boda motorbike taxi. Even then, the terrain was difficult with the trail littered with boulders, trees, rivers, and other creatures. Everything had to be carried on the boda-boda: two passengers, beekeeping gear, camera and lunch. When the destination was reached, there were often no electricity, piped water or sanitary facilities. There were certainly no lecture halls, no means of showing videos or pictures, and often not even a blackboard and chalk.

I gave presentations at five different centres. Lessons were held in a variety of situations: a local church, a school and three times in the open. My teaching aids consisted of what I could pick up in the locality. I carried my own chalk and improvised a chalkboard from a table top and a wooden bench on its side. In trying to make a point about pollination the audience did not need fancy diagrams of flower structure or honey bees. The flowers of coffee, mango, paw paw, as well as the fruit were all around. They could see bees active in the cotton flowers. My visual aids were simple and the audience could relate to what I was saying.

From my work in Madagascar, Nepal and various Caribbean islands I know that the situation is different in other nations. Many bee farmers are not hobbyists. Bees are kept for honey and other hive products to sell for supplementary income. Beekeeping fits in with other farming practices.

Situations vary

In sub Saharan Africa the situation is completely different from that of the UK. Local bees in Africa have evolved to take advantage of the available flora and to exploit the local climate. The resident human population may be poor financially, but they are rich in other assets.

Rural people have a good knowledge of bees, plants and places favoured by bees. Local beekeepers have a great wealth of useful knowledge that can be used in the development of more sustainable beekeeping methods.

How different from my situation this week when I am spending the whole day talking to groups of school children in the UK about pollination. You could be excused for thinking that a formal lecture and perhaps even a PowerPoint presentation would be appropriate. Indeed it would. Nevertheless I will still be making my point with fruit and vegetables from the greengrocer and flowers I collect on my journey to the school.

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PROFITABILITY OF APIS MELLIFERA IN VIETNAM Nguyen Quang Tan, Bee Research Unit, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

PHOTOS © BNGUYEN QUANG TAN

Keywords: Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Asian beekeeping, bee flora, cost benefit analysis, economic efficiency, honey export, investment, Mekong Delta, migratory beekeeping, Tropilaelaps spp, Varroa sp

Introduction

Beekeeping is environmentally sustainable and is a good livelihood practice for many people around the world (Bradbear, 2010). In Vietnam, beekeeping holds an important place in agriculture. Honey is produced for both domestic consumption and for export, and during the last decade Vietnam has been among the world’s top ten honey exporting nations. Of course beekeeping is also crucial for pollination in Vietnam and many plants are dependent on bees to produce nuts, seeds, or fruits: although this value has never been studied in Vietnam, it could be ten times the value earned from bee products.

European races of Apis mellifera honey bees[1] were imported to Vietnam and managed successfully during the early 1960s. In 199192, a study was carried out on beekeeping with Apis mellifera in southern Vietnam (Tan & Binh, 1994). Since then beekeeping has continuously developed and changes have been taking place. This paper updates the information on beekeeping, bee diseases and the economic efficiency of beekeeping with Apis mellifera in Vietnam.

Colonies are moved to new forage sites every few months

All apiaries were migratory with colonies being moved long distances of up to 1,500 km many times a year to reach the best flower sources:

Methodology

Forage source

Location

Thirty-one apiaries were visited and the beekeepers were interviewed using a questionnaire to collect data. These visits took place JuneOctober 2008 in Ben Tre Province of the Mekong Delta. At this time of year, migratory beekeepers from many provinces bring their colonies to harvest longan and rambutan honey. The data collected was processed using cost benefit analysis.

Acacia mangium

The study found that 70% of beekeepers owned their apiaries, while the remainder were employees, and therefore the majority of Apis mellifera apiaries are run by small businesses. Many beekeepers are hired by companies to learn and work in apiaries. After a few years, good employees become owners of the bees and hives with sponsorship from their former employers. Then some of these owners who are very successful for a few years buy more bees, hire labourers, and in turn become new bosses. In this way Apis mellifera beekeeping in Vietnam has increased from a few tens of colonies in the 1960s to nearly one million in 2010. Honey export has grown from 1,000 tonnes in 1990 to 20,000 tonnes in 2010. This suggests that farmers learning from other farmers is a good way to start beekeeping.

Dimocarpus longan Mekong Delta (longan)

Anacardium occidentale (cashew)

Coffea canephora

Results and discussion

Hevea brasiliensis (rubber) Litchi chinensis

Coastal Central, Binh Phuoc and Ba Ria Vung Tau Provinces

MarchAugust

Central Highlands, Dong Nai and Ba Ria Vung Tau Provinces (adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City)

JanuaryMarch

Central Highlands, provinces near Ho Chi Minh City

FebruaryMay

Binh Phuoc Province (100 km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City)

Bac Giang Province (100 km northeast of Ha Noi)

Melaleuca cajuputi Mekong Delta Nephelium lappaceum (rambutan)

Our study found that the typical number of colonies per apiary was 200-300: a manageable number for a skilled beekeeper and a number that can be carried by the trucks commonly used in Vietnam. None of the 31 apiaries produced royal jelly although some had done so in the past. The reasons are because the international market is limited while the local market is small.

Flowering

Mekong Delta

DecemberJanuary

Many times each year March

Many times each year Many times each year

Eighty-seven percent of beekeepers regard the parasitic mites Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps spp as the most serious problems on which they spend most time and money. Bio-technical methods are applied to control the mites: trapping Varroa mites by drone brood removal and making colonies broodless to kill Tropilaelaps mites (Dung et al, 1997). Recently organic acids (formic acid, oxalic acid) and essential oils (Eucalyptus oil, Melaleuca oil, Thymol) are used widely and successfully by the beekeepers.

Ninety-one percent of the beekeepers interviewed said that income from beekeeping was the main income source for their families. Compared with other agricultural sectors, income from beekeeping is higher but it can be unstable and risky. The majority (60%) of the beekeepers are over 40 years of age and 70% had kept bees for more than 10 years.

This suggests that beekeeping is not attractive to younger people.

Tan & Binh (1994) reported that the Asian honey bee Apis cerana was kept for a considerable sideline income. Also using rafter beekeeping techniques allowed honey to be harvested from the giant honey bee, Apis dorsata (Tan 2002).

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Data from this study (Tables 1-3) show that beekeeping with Apis mellifera is a good full time occupation for many farmers.

Table 1.

Data on economic efficiency of Apis mellifera beekeeping

Statistic

Colonies per beekeeper

250

Annual Production Cost: hive depreciation, feeds, transport, labour cost, capital interest

VND 200 million (US$10,000; €7,000)

Honey yield

45 kg/colony/year

Income

VND 82 million (US$4,100; €2,900)

Profit (Income less cost of labour)

VND 40 million (US$2,000; €1,400)

Profit/Cost Economic efficiency in comparison with bank interest

20.0%

Bank savings account, Interest per year

11.5%

Favourable bank loan for farmers, Interest

14.4%

Normal bank loan interest

Colonies per beekeeper Main nectar sources

Duration of honey harvest

Honey yield per colony per year Profit/Cost

National honey export (tonnes per year)

Nevertheless, Apis mellifera beekeeping in Vietnam still has many disadvantages and for many beginners, success is difficult to achieve.

The investment to start an Apis mellifera apiary is very high at VND250 million (US$12,500; €8,800). Most people cannot afford this investment, so they have to seek a loan - usually with high interest.

Daily life is hard in beekeeping, with movement of colonies every few months; often situating bees and living in tents in remote areas.

Beekeeping income is unstable because honey yield is highly dependent on the weather, and honey prices fluctuate. There are also a lot of risks in beekeeping: bee diseases and pests as well as poisoning from pesticides. Accidents while transporting bees and forest fires are also risk factors. In addition, the many unforeseen changes in the international honey markets regarding policy and quality cannot be disregarded.

Statistic

Beekeeping Profit/Cost

Comparing Apis mellifera beekeeping in 1994 and 2011

Risks

20%

Table 2.

Table 3.

A nicely organised apiary

18.0% Year 1994 (Tan & Binh)

Year 2011 (this study)

longan, rubber

Acacia cashew, longan, Melaleuca, rubber

87

6 months 38 kg

11%

2,000

250

1. Apis mellifera is the species of honey bee indigenous to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. It does not occur naturally in Asia.

References BRADBEAR, N. (2010) Beekeeping development – why is success so difficult to achieve?

International Conference on Beekeeping Development and Honey Marketing, Hanoi Vietnam (2010): 24.

DUNG, N.V.; TAN, N.Q.; HUAN, L.V.; BOOT, W.J. (1997) Control of honey bee mites in Vietnam without the use of chemicals. Bee World 78(2): 78-83.

TAN, N. Q.(2002) Social-economic factors in rafter beekeeping in Vietnam. Bee World 83(4): 165-170.

TAN, N.Q.; BINH, P.T. (1994) Harmony or Conflict: Apis mellifera and Apis cerana in southern Vietnam. Bees for Development Journal 32: 5-8.

8 months

45 kg

20%

20,000

Conclusion

Beekeeping in Vietnam has many advantages: beekeepers are skillful and hard working and flower sources are abundant for at least eight months of the year. Beekeeping is considered worthy of support by the government and there is good co-operation between beekeepers, associations, companies, research organisations and universities. We also enjoy good contacts with many international beekeeping organisations and universities.

Further reading BfD Journal 98 World honey BfD Journal 41 AAA Conference in Vietnam BfD Journal 16 Beekeeping in Vietnam These articles can be accessed on our website Information Portal

The type of truck typically used for moving hives in Vietnam

Tents serve as home during the beekeeping year 9

Bees for Development Journal 99

CARIBBEAN UPDATE TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Gladstone Solomon, 11 Farm Road, Hope Village, Mesopotamia, Tobago, West Indies PHOTO © PETER EDWARDS

Keywords: Africanised honey bees, beekeeping decline, European honey bees, policy

Available data indicates that in 2008 there were around 300 beekeepers and 6,000 honey bee colonies in Trinidad, and 16 beekeepers with 450 colonies in Tobago. This represents a decline in beekeeping in both islands, clearly suggesting that new strategies must be found to secure the sector's future and enable it to realise its full potential.

Since 1997, the Government has agreed to designate areas of forest reserve lands to be used for beekeeping activities, but to date this agreement remains unfulfilled. This potentially fruitful policy decision could, if implemented, significantly improve the sector's viability and be a positive milestone in the sector’s history. This is because a recent survey revealed that beekeepers on both islands considered lack of suitable apiary sites as their major constraint to enterprise development.

Government policy, as reflected in statements by Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath, is one of support for resurgence of beekeeping. Local beekeepers hope the Minister will recognise that unless a structured mechanism for support of beekeeping is appropriately resourced, mobilised and mandated, attempts to develop the sector are likely to be short-lived. Due consideration must be given to the fragility of the national beekeeping environment, which is threatened by new and exotic pests and diseases, subjected to denudation by untamed bush fires, slash-and-burn agriculture, creeping urbanisation, 'fogging' for mosquitoes, and large-scale industrial sites being established in rural communities. Complementarity between beekeeping on the two islands may be also explored: a significant market exists for European queen bees in Trinidad, which could be satisfied by developing commercial queen-rearing capacity in Tobago.

Of course there is also the need to ensure that Tobago remains free from Africanised bees. Given the probability that Africanised bees will eventually arrive in Tobago, action must be taken, both to forestall and yet prepare for that eventuality.

'cluster' of socio-economic interests, and enjoy the benefits of co-operation rather than competing within their community. There is significant scope to expand and diversify the production and marketing of bee products. The bottom line is that ‘api-culture' must be tweaked to emphasise its 'api-business' component. Finally, and of critical importance, is the need to recognise that 21st century beekeeping is not a simple vocation. The perception by aspiring beekeepers, investors, advisers, policy analysts, and planners, that there is 'money in honey' and that the transformation process is as figuratively straightforward as changing the 'h' in honey to the 'm' in money, must give way to the reality that sustainable beekeeping is as complicated an activity as the bees we are working with.

ARGENTINA

ApiTrade Africa at the Apimondia Congress 2011

UK beekeepers on a BfD Safari to Trinidad & Tobago. These Safaris are run by Gladstone - see page 12.

Gladstone Solomon is Bf D’s Correspondent in the Caribbean, President of the Tobago Apicultural Society and Chairman of the Association of Caribbean Beekeepers Organizations

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD Beekeepers must exploit to the fullest their collective potential as a

Plant protection risks for bees The Pellston Workshop on Potential Risks of Plant Protection Products to Pollinators took place in Florida, USA in January. Forty-five specialists from four continents - bee scientists, university researchers, directors of state agencies for pesticide regulation and representatives of private companies - addressed key issues on the effect of pesticides on honey bees. Dr Teodoro Stadler from the Environmental Toxicology Laboratory in Mendoza participated and will share workshop results and local research findings in the XIX Fair and Beekeeping Meeting from the Centre of the Country in Córdoba in May. The conference has been organised by Espacio Apicola magazine with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Food, Córdoba Province with endorsement from Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto.

More at www.apicultura.com.ar

ApiTrade Africa will host honey and beeswax processors and exporters from African countries under One African Pavilion at the forthcoming global 42nd Apimondia Expo in Argentina in September (see page 16).

This resolution was agreed during ApiTrade Africa’s AGM held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March. Within the One African Pavilion, we expect product displays from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Apimondia Congress will provide a platform to showcase Africa’s unique bee products, expand business linkages and influence global issues which affect smallholder African beekeepers. The Congress also provides an ideal opportunity for skill and knowledge transfer for African stakeholders. ApiTrade Africa will publicise ApiExpo Africa 2012, a continental promotional event for African beekeepers and honey traders, scheduled for September 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More at www.apitradeafrica.org

Fernando L Esteban, Director, Espacio Apícola, Córdoba

Bosco Okello, Chief Executive Officer, ApiTrade Africa

10

KENYA

Tharaka Honeybee Products was registered as a limited company in 2009. Mrs Miriam Chabaari had the idea when working as a school teacher in Tharaka, a remote village 300 km north-east of Nairobi.

Frustrated by her low monthly salary of KES1,322 (€12, US$16) Miriam started the business by buying ten 500g jars from a local honey refinery owned by the Methodist Church. She sold the honey to colleagues at school for a profit of KES110 (€1, US$1.3) per jar. Miriam enrolled for courses in business management and beekeeping at Baraka Agricultural College in Molo, Kenya. In 2005, her training completed, Miriam resigned from the school and founded Tharaka Honeybee Products. She continued buying honey from the church refinery for resale in supermarkets in Nakuru town. Demand soon overwhelmed supply and in 2006 Tharaka Honeybee Products started sourcing honey directly from farmers in Kenya, and from co-operatives in Tanzania, for marketing under their own Tharaka Pure Honey brand at the Agricultural Society of Kenya show-ground in Nakuru town. Sadly, unprecedented chaos broke out at the end of 2007 due to a disputed presidential election in Kenya and Tharaka Honeybee Products’ young refinery hurriedly closed down as the premises were taken over by internally displaced people.

PHOTOS © BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Bees for Development Journal 99

Miriam Chaabari

Today the business is based to Nairobi and is trading five tonnes of honey each month. In January 2011 the Company imported an automated honey processing plant and has five regular employees and extra casual workers as needed. The greatest challenges have been consumers’ dislike of crystallised honey, misinformation from unscrupulous merchants selling adulterated honey-mixtures, lack of organised marketing by producer associations, and finance. The Company strives to directly improve the well-being of beekeepers in remote rural areas of eastern Africa and aspires to be a showcase for women owned and managed beekeeping enterprises in the region.

Tharaka honey

Miriam Chaabari recently received training from Bf D under the ProInvest EAF6199 Project supporting apiculture intermediary organisations in East Africa.

PHOTOS © APITRADE AFRICA

Miriam Chaabari, Proprietor and Manager, Tharaka Honeybee Products, Nairobi

ApiTrade Africa representatives at the 2011 AGM (see page 10). From left: Mr Haile Giorgis Demissie, President, Ethiopian Apiculture Board; Ms Meskerem Shiferaw, Adviser, SNV Ethiopia; Ms Gladness Nkamba, Assistant Director, Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism, Tanzania; Mr Mulufird Ashagrie, Business Development Adviser, Farm Africa–SOS-Sahel, Ethiopia; Mr Harun N Baiya, Board Chairman, ApiTrade Africa/CEO, SITE Enterprise Promotion, Kenya; Ms Mwanahmisi Mapolu, Beekeeping Officer, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania; Mr Ayalew Kassaye, President, Ethiopian Beekeepers Association; Mr Bosco Okello, CEO, ApiTrade Africa, Uganda; Ms Alice N Kangave, Principal Entomologist, Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and Fisheries, Uganda; Mr Mushumba Desire, Head of Beekeeping, Association for Integrated Development of Rwanda; Ms Doreen Tumushabe, Director, Agritrust (Uganda) Ltd. 11

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LOOK AHEAD ARGENTINA

APIMONDIA - 42nd International Apicultural Congress 21-25 September 2011, Buenos Aires Further details apimondia2011@mci-group.com

AUSTRALIA

XVIII International Botanical Congress 23-30 July 2011, Melbourne Further details www.ibc2011.com

CANADA

APIMONDIA Symposium Queen Breeding, Selection & Honey Bee Health 15-18 November 2012, Quebec City Further details Pierre.Giovenazzo@bio.ulaval.ca

ETHIOPIA

3rd ApiExpo Africa 2012, Addis Ababa Further details www.apitradeafrica.org.uk

GERMANY

5th European Conference of Apidology 4-6 September 2012, Halle an der Saale Further details www.eurbee2012.uni-halle.de

IRELAND

APIMONDIA Symposium - Bee Health 20-22 March 2012, Dublin Further details www.beehealth2012.ie

LEARN AHEAD IRELAND

MALAYSIA

Irish Beekeepers’ Summer Course 24-29 July 2011, Gormanston Further details www.irishbeekeeping.ie

MEXICO

Bees for Development Sustainable Beekeeping Course 1-2 October 2011, Ragman’s Lane Farm, Gloucestershire Further details www.beesfordevelopment.org

11th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 28 September - 3 October 2012, Kuala Terengganu Further details see page 16 ICPBR Pollination Symposium 27-20 June 2011 Cholula (Puebla) Further details www.uoguelph.ca/icpbr/Mexico.html

SAN MARINO

APIMONDIA Symposium - ApiEcoFlora 4-6 October 2012 Further details apimondia@sanmarinoconvention.sm

UK

80th National Honey Show 27-29 October 2011, Weybridge Further details wwwhoneyshow.org.uk

UKRAINE

APIMONDIA - 43rd International Apicultural Congress 15-20 September 2013, Kiev Further details www.apimondia2013.org.ua

UK

Bf D Beekeepers Safaris Bee themed holidays to superb locations

Rodrigues and Mauritius 13-24 November 2011 Trinidad and Tobago 6-16 January 2012 Details on our website

If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website send details to Bees for Development, address on page 16

NOTICE BOARD

VOLUNTEER REQUESTS RUDEC Cameroon would like to have partner beekeeping associations and establish an exchange of volunteers for training.

Contact Joshua Chiamba via Bf D

Apoolo Na Angor, a development group for women in Mbale, Uganda is again looking for volunteers to help with their beekeeping. Bf D will put you in touch with Co-ordinator, Moses Aisia.

GRANTS TO SCIENTISTS IFS Research Grants are for citizens of a developing country who are scientists under 40 years of age, with at least a Master's or equivalent degree or research experience and attached to a university, national research institution or a research-orientated NGO in a developing country.

See www.ifs.se PROJECT FUNDING FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, supports beekeeping projects in developing countries.

TeleFood Special Fund Beekeepers’ groups and associations may apply for small project funding of up to US$10,000. Request documents should include a brief description of project objectives, proposed food production or income-generating activities, work plan, number of participants, detailed list of inputs with cost estimates and reporting arrangements. Submit your request to the FAO or UNDP office in your country. See www.fao.org and inform BfD of the outcome of your application.

1% for Development Fund Small grants to enable community based beekeeping projects in developing countries to get off the ground. Applicants must define clearly objectives and describe how they are to be attained. See One-Per-Cent-Fund@FAO.org AWARDS World Challenge rewards grassroots community projects that promote sustainable development through innovation and original thinking. Entry deadline 19 June 2011. See www.theworldchallenge.co.uk Sony World Photography Awards 2012 Open for entries from 1 June 2011. Visit www.worldphoto.org/competitions

BEE CRAFT UK Beekeeping Journal for beginners and seasoned apiarists View a digital copy and subscribe on line at www.bee-craft.com 12

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AVAILABLE FROM Bf D NOW AT WWW.BEESFORDEVELOPMENT.ORG

BOOK SHELF

THE SYSTEMIC INSECTICIDES - A DISASTER IN THE MAKING

Henk Tennekes 2010 70 pages Hardback £28 (€442) T105 An excellent text presenting evidence of the consequences of systemic insecticides on European wildlife, where many naturalists concerned for birds have undertaken careful research counting numbers of species over many years. It is therefore possible to compare current population sizes of insect-eating bird species with reliable data from 30 years ago. The scientific evidence reveals that these bird species are declining on a massive scale.

There is also review of scientific data on the increasing use and detection in the wider environment of neonicotinoid insecticides. When used as seed dressings, neonicotinoids migrate to every part of the plant: leaf tips, all parts of flowers and pollen. These insecticides damage the central nervous systems of insects, and very small quantities are effective. Since 2004 they have been detected as major contaminants of Dutch surface water, killing or debilitating non-target insects and possibly other arthropods, and progressively reducing food supplies for insect-feeding birds.

The concise text and diagrams, with every fact supported by a reference from scientific literature, are accompanied by beautiful artwork: this provides an accessible way for the layman to be informed of the environmental disaster humans are causing. The text quotes Graham White, an environmental author who keeps bees in the UK Scottish borders: “We are witnessing an ecological collapse in all the wildlife that used to live in fields, hedgerows, ponds and streams. All the common species we knew as children are being wiped from the face of the countryside”.

BEE KEEPING - A NOVICE’S GUIDE

David Wootton 2011 128 pages £17.99 (€227) W310 The author of this book writes: “I wrote this book as a novice beekeeper myself. As a pro-photographer I was photographing my bees and beekeeping in general and felt that most books were not illustrated very well and were written by experts who assumed the new reader knew something. My book is not an expert’s view, but a book to take the novice beekeeper through their first two years with images illustrating the main points”.

This beautifully produced book contains fantastic pictures of bees and British beekeepers at work and provides an excellent guide.

AN HOLISTIC WAY IN SAVING THE “HONEYBEE”

John Harding 2010 78 pages £11 (€117) H310 There are dozens of new books on beekeeping being published these days, some of them very much like others, a criticism that does not apply to this eccentrically titled text. It proposes how electromagnetic geopathic stress lines contribute to bee well being: according to the author, a honey bee colony living in a hive above a stress line will be healthier and more active than a colony located in the ‘wrong’ place, that is not above a stress line. The author has invented much equipment and uses various techniques, and along the way we hear of his ex-wife Cynthia and other aspects of his bee-focussed life. Definitely a unique read with food for thought. The text does tend to shout at the reader, with important points emphasised in LARGE FONT.

THE COMPLETE AND EASY GUIDE TO BEEKEEPING

Kim Flottum 2011 268 pages £15.99 (€224) F305 A beautifully produced guide to beekeeping as practised in North America using European races of Apis mellifera honey bees in frame hives. All the information that a beginner beekeeper needs to know is here, with clearly explained text and excellent illustrations. Chapter 1 is Starting right, Chapter 2 is About bees, Chapter 3 is About beekeeping.

Chapter 4, About beeswax and Chapter 5 Cooking with honey have many good recipes and tips for making and presenting value added products.

THE BEEHOUSE BOOK

Paul Mann 2010 52 pages £11.95 (€118) M305 If you are planning to build a bee house, this is the book for you, giving plenty of detail about a topic not much covered by other beekeeping texts. As more people seek to keep bees in urban areas, the bee house can be an ideal way to keep bees unobtrusively, and this text provides all the plans and details that are needed.

Bf D Web Store

We offer a specialised service providing books, CDs, DVDs and posters focussed on apiculture as practised in developing countries. In addition to these special texts we offer a selection of the latest and best publications on bees, apiculture and related fields. Also at the Bf D web store you can renew your own or donated subscription to BfD Journal, book places on one of our training events or safaris, and purchase goods that support the work of Bf D Trust. Visit www.beesfordevelopment.org/catalog 14

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Buying from Bf D

Order through our web store Secure Payment System Or send us an e-mail, or post us a note of what you want, or we can send you an order form Payment is required with order Delivery UK addresses: FREE delivery on publication orders up to 1 kg Outside UK: Orders dispatched by airmail post. Add 15% for delivery to Europe; 30% for outside Europe (Orders over £500 please request our quote) Ways to pay • Secure order and payment at www.beesfordevelopment.org/catalog • to store@beesfordevelopment.org • Credit/Debit card Amex/Maestro/MasterCard/Visa. We need card number, name on card, valid from and expiry dates, card issue number (if given), security number on back of card.

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NOTICE BOARD

ULUDAG BEE JOURNAL News, practical information and research articles Published quarterly in Turkish with English summaries. See www.uludagaricilik.org

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE BfD Journal offers a great opportunity to reach thousands of readers. Prices start from GBP35 (€42, US$60), various size ads available.

APIACTA For the beekeeper and bee scientist Apiacta the Apimondia Journal.

Available online from www.apimondia.org

PROJECT PLANNERS Remember to include an allowance for publications and BfDJ subscriptions in your budget when writing proposals. We can help with expert advice and supply you with an appropriate beekeeping library. Also include participation costs for beekeeping meetings, such as the biennial Apimondia congresses - see Look Ahead, p12.

Bf D Trust Supporter

Assist Bees for Development Trust to help beekeepers in developing countries Funds are needed to: • provide sponsored subscriptions to BfD Journal • send Resource Boxes for training courses and events • respond to enquiries • maintain our website Information Portal See How to help at

www.beesfor development.org 15

Bees for Development Journal 99

11th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 28 September - 2 October 2012 Primula Hotel, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

Support for training

Bf D Training Booklets and Training Cards are for use by beekeeper trainers in Africa.

The Asian Apicultural Association (AAA) assists communication and exchange of information between bee scientists and beekeepers in Asia. We need to co-ordinate bee research, extension and diversity of beekeeping promotion and to make efforts relevant to the business community and people everywhere.

The Conference Committee has identified the following special areas of focus: • Bee biology, behaviour, diseases and pests • Bee pollination and bee plants • Bee products • Beekeeping and honey hunting equipment and technologies • Apitherapy and pharmaceuticals • Environment and conservation For more information visit www.asianbeeconference.org/11thaaaconference

SPONSORED SUBSCRIPTION

Each booklet provides one day of training on one topic. The cards provide pictures and plans illustrating techniques discussed in the booklets. These are included in our Resource Boxes for training events and workshops.

If you would like to receive BfD Journal but you cannot pay the £26 subscription, apply for a sponsored subscription.

• Download an application form from our website

• Send an email to journalrequest@beesfordevelopment.org

Projects and associations in developing countries are welcome to apply for a Sponsored Resource Box by filling out an application form on our website, or request the form by email. Projects in other areas can purchase Resource Boxes through our website store.

• Send us a letter

Include a few details about your beekeeping activities

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Our sponsored subscription service is available to resource-poor beekeepers, projects, and groups in developing countries and is supported with funds raised by Bf D Trust.

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