Bee Farmers Benefit from Training Sessions

Bee farmers across the island are benefiting from a series of training sessions in bee colony management, sponsored by the Apiculture Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Cecil Willis, Apiculture Officer for Portland and St. Mary, told JIS News that the seminars where being held in conjunction with the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and were designed to revive the industry in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.
Seminars have already been held in the communities of Agualta Vale in St. Mary; Skibo, Charles Town, Tranquillity and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education in Portland, while sessions are planned for Fellowship Hall and Orange River in St. Mary on November 17 and 20 respectively, and Brown’s Town, St. Ann on November 30.
Mr. Willis pointed out that the survival and expansion of the bee keeping industry was of vital importance to the economy because of the strong demand for Jamaican honey on the international market.
He noted that the industry had suffered severely from the hurricane and the Apiculture Unit was working closely with the Rural Agriculture Development Authority (RADA) and the All Island Bee Farmers Association to assist in recovery efforts.
As part of the revival efforts, the Apiculture recently launched the ‘Save the Trees and Protect the Bees’ project, through which trees farmers are encouraged to grow trees to have a steady supply of nesting boxes.