Bee-keeping here is expanding to a “rewarding sweet industry” and the sector is well placed to tap into the world honey market, says a top US apiarist who recently worked with local bee-keepers.
Through the Washington, D.C.-based Partners of the Americas Farmer to Farmer Program, Virginia Webb, a Master Beekeeper and former Tennessee Honey Queen, offered her expertise to farmers in Guyana from April 24 to last Saturday. She observed beekeeping and honey production techniques while offering recommendations on hive management, control of pests, honey and beeswax production, pollen and royal jelly production, queen rearing and marketing, all on behalf of the members of the Guyana Apiculture Society and their associates.
A press release from Partners of the Americas said that the third generation beekeeper observed that small scale beekeeping is expanding to a rewarding sweet industry in Guyana. Guyana has been involved in the production for over 50 years. It was noted that the world needs more honey and Guyana is well placed to tap into this market as the industry develops.
In the past, Guyanese beekeepers kept their beehives close to their homes or in a garden but after the introduction of the Africanized bees in the 1960’s, hives were moved further away because of the increased defensive nature of this bee. Beekeepers have adopted more protective clothing and equipment when working with this new bee. They usually place hives on individual stands and use large quantities of smoke before entering a hive. It is said that honeybees are not aggressive by nature and will not sting unless they are involved in the act of protecting their hive from an intruder or are unduly provoked.
The release highlighted the good qualities of the Africanized bees pointing out that the insects have adapted well to the Caribbean’s tropical climate and have proven to be an invaluable pollinator. Many of the region’s fruits and vegetables will not yield or the production would be of a lesser quality and quantity without a beneficial pollinator, the release noted. Originating in Europe, honeybees were brought to South America by Western Europeans in the 1600’s.
The release said that Webb, who started her first beehive when she was six years old, was able to manage more than 60 colonies of bees throughout the late 1960 to the mid 1970’s with her father. In 1974, she was awarded for beekeeping with her first 4-H award and was named the Tennessee Honey Queen in 1975.
Since 1998, Webb and her husband have been full-time commercial honey and queen producers with their specialty being Sourwood Honey and producing the Russian Honeybee. They now have over 300 production colonies and a queen breeding yard. They produce and package their own honey for the wholesale and retail market. Webb had developed over 20 teaching programmes for the beekeeping industry, with the most requested programmes being Beeswax and Candle Making and Marketing your Honey.
Webb volunteered through the Farmer to Farmer Program, which is aimed at improving economic opportunities in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean by increasing food production and distribution, promoting better farm and marketing operations and conserving natural resources. The programme is supported by the US Congress and USAID. It brings together agricultural professionals and practitioners from the US and the Caribbean, who work to identify local needs and design projects to address them.
