Apiculture, Part 3
Program Objectives
- To promote beekeeping as a sustainable industry and livelihood;
- To improve long-term farm productivity, especially for coconut farms,
through consistent and thorough pollination by domestic bees;
- To augment farmers' incomes by providing an additional crop and products
such as honey, pollen and beeswax;
- To stem the environmentally destructive practice of wild bee hunting;
- To propagate beekeeping of local bees (Apis cerana & Trigona
biroi) as an industry and source of livelihood and employment.
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| Inspecting a harvested frame |
Recapturing a swarm - carefully! |
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Apiculture Program
Joint Venture Plan
We are introducing our apiculture program through a joint venture plan
whereby you, the landowner/farmer has a stake of 70% and DFMSI has a stake
of 30%. This plan is also applicable for overseas Filipinos and returning
OFWs.
DFMSI will provide the hives and act as the management team, providing
the expertise needed and training new beekeepers.
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| Trigona hive in backyard; being stingless, they're safe to keep
close to human habitations. |
Presenting the business and its products to the Governor and Representative
of Romblon. |
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Program Components
- Pollination
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- Pollination
- Training of personnel
- Beehive rental and sales
Bee Management-
- Revolves around nectar flow and availability, and ensuring honey
flow/production. Management requires:
- Supplemental feeding: bees are fed with sugar solution when
needed (e.g. during the rainy season when bees can't fly)
- Inspection: detailed inspection involves checking population
growth, the arrangement of the brood nest and checking for symptoms
of disease
- Swarm control: colonies should be discouraged from swarming
as this divides and thus weakens the colony.
- Queen rearing: annual replacement of the queen stimulates
worker bees to forage, and suppresses swarming and the outbreak
of diseases
- Processing of honey and other bee products.
Products and Marketing-
- With demand outstripping supply, bee products have a ready market.
- Being organic and 100% natural can demand a higher price as health
supplements
Services
- Commercial pollination services
- Bee hive sales
- Bee products processing and marketing
Please call, fax or email us at [email protected]
for inquiries.
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Industry Concerns
- Quality control of bees and bee products
- Reported entry of contaminated bee and bee products still remain
unchecked.
- Proliferation of fake and adulterated honey.
- Increasing production
- Need for trained beekeepers and training programs.
- Funds for regional breeding centers and incentive for private
ones.
- Security (quarantine, financing, insurance)
- Some imported queens don’t pass through quarantine.
- Check illicit trade of diseased hives and bogus training programs.
- Few financing sources for loans from lack of feasibility data.
- Need for bee insurance support as fallback of beekeepers.
- R & D needs
- Development of baseline data for character reference
- Research grants
- Funding and logistical support for pollination studies
- A comprehensive floral calendar
- Community development
- Inclusion of beekeeping in major community development and agro-industrial
program
- Advocacy and legislation
- Legislation in support of biological research and intellectual
property
- Educational materials in support of beekeeping and the bees’
role in the environment
- Amendments must be made to Bills and Acts pertaining to bees and
the beekeeping industry
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