Beekeeping is an invaluable sector in the Caribbean tradition. This bioeconomic activity has helped to build the economies of Caribbean Island states, however, over the last twenty to thirty years, beekeeping has been negatively impacted by climate change and development, which has led to reduced habitat and forage areas, and increased diseases and chemical use in the agricultural sector.
Noting the reported reduction in biodiversity worldwide, including of bee species, a structured plan for beekeeping for the Caribbean can help to realize sustainable livelihood opportunities and alternative sources of revenue for communities whilst safeguarding bee diversity.
In 2022, CARICOM attempted to address this by drafting and adopting guidelines for inter-regional honey trade, however, these were created without adequate feedback from stakeholders and as such, are not applicable to the current situation within the apiculture sector for the Caribbean.
In April 2023, the Saint Lucia office of the GEF SGP, in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) approached the OECS Commission to establish a working group to evaluate the opportunities and challenges within the apiculture sector.
Technical support and cooperation was also sought from the Saint Lucia National Conservation Trust Fund (SLUNCF), the Iyanola Apiculture Collective (IAC) and the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN).
Funding support has also been provided by the EU-funded BioSPACE project.
The first activity commissioned is an Economic Scoping Study of the Apiculture sector. The aim of this study is to create a clear vision and policy framework that will create an enabling environment and guide impactful investments in apiculture.
Other expected output of the initiative include:
- Production of an OECS Policy for Apiculture: which is intended to guide long-term industry development with a focus on sustainability.
- Production of a two-year work plan for Apiculture in the OECS: that guides the coordinating role of the OECS in industry development at the sub-regional level.
- Sub-regional meeting of Ministers of Agriculture in Saint Lucia, on the establishment of a framework for the sustainable development of apiculture in the OECS: to establish high-level participation and approval of the policy and workplan.
The scoping exercise is extremely important to beekeepers and we urge members of the apicultural community across the region to support the work of this study.
Additionally, the results of the study will help decision makers and development partners evaluate investments in local beekeeping sectors and their contribution to human health and well-being, and national economic development.
SOURCE: Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
I was so ignorant about bees, I was of the opinion that only honey is derived from bees . However, I later discovered that there are several byproducts of honey, such as lip balm, body lotion, soap, and of course, ganja laced honey is nice also. However, producing these byproducts requires finance. Persons can resort to making these products manually, but the process is time consuming, but financially rewarding. A person can live a financially rewarding life, if he or she is dedicated and willing to put in the work. I am not just saying this, I know someone, a young man, who has been doing it for 13 years. People will have to accept that they are not going to make huge profits overnight. It is not a sprint, it will is a marathon.
Bees are so important for pollination of many plants, like pumpkins.
Therefore let’s protect the bees and the people by stopping the use of chemical sprays like roundup. These chemicals not only kill grass and weeds and bees, but they cause CANCER to humans.