ONE morning, Mang Kael (not his complete name) visited his honey bee hives situated in a parcel of land his family owns. Upon taking a close look at the colonies, he felt thankful he will harvest honey to sell in the market soon.
“Had I not chosen keeping bees, I may not have additional products in my stall,” he gladly thought to himself.
Like others, Mang Kael integrated beekeeping in his coffee farm. He observed his plants yielded more berries during his last harvest when he brought honey bees in his farm. And so, he wished to multiply his hives to have pollinators of his coffee and likewise to have more bee products.
He is just one of the individuals trained through the beekeeping trainings he attended before. Thus, to help Mang Kael and other beekeepers to manage their own apiaries, some institutions and organizations promote beekeeping for various reasons, primarily as a source of complementary income which likewise promote balance of ecology and biodiversity in the Cordillera region.
Cordillera as a sanctuary of honey bees
Cordillera is a potential source of bee products for its physical feature being mountainous. Also, the region’s climate is suitable for bees all year round while its elevation favors the flowering seasons that falls from October to December where pollen and nectar are sufficient.
Sunflower, the specie that is abundant in the communities, makes the distinct quality of honey products of the region.
Aside from pollinating ornamentals, pollination of the honey bees to crops is significant for the increase of seeds and fruit yields of cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, cucumber, field beans, eggplant, radish, mustard, and coffee which are usually produced, primarily in the province of Benguet.
In support to local agriculture, Benguet State University (BSU) advocates beekeeping integrated to organic farming made possible through its various projects and programs and linkages. Such are organic interventions for ornamental farms, highland vegetable farms, coffee farms and rice farms.
The organic way sustains apiculture wherein pests and diseases that may affect the population and production of honey bees will be minimized. In the long run, it helps maintain a safe environment for bees which upholds food security, balanced ecology and biodiversity.
Thus, in the region where most communities manage agricultural farms, beekeeping can be included in the farming activities of the locals as source of bee products both for domestic and for commercial purposes. It is a good sideline for farmers, professionals and for anyone interested to take care of the bees and to produce bee products like honey, royal jelly, beeswax, pollen, and propolis. It does not require daily care so one could incorporate beekeeping in his/her work. Meanwhile, the materials needed to build hives that maximizes the desired capacity of bee colonies could be made using available resources.
Beefriending the bees
With the abovementioned essential contributions and benefits of bees and beekeeping, individuals who want to delve into working with honey bees need not to worry for the common notion that they are dangerous.
There are ways to avoid or minimize the chances of getting stung. Dressing properly with a protective bee suit, bee veil and gloves is needed when working with bees. However, getting stung sometimes is unavoidable since bees, when disturbed or invaded, become aggressive.
Also, other factors for keeping bees should also be considered in order to manage them well. It includes the following: The location of the hives should be in a proper place where they could access water and an area where no neighborhood could be alloyed. When family members are allergic to bee sting, proper location of the bee hives is to be considered.
Proper management of the hives is needed. Although not often, they should be monitored. Thus, if staying in a location with hard access to the bees, a back-up beekeeper may be assigned to supply food and to apply medication to the bees if the need arises.
A call for bee workers
However, beekeeping is not a well-known alternative livelihood in the region. Only Benguet has many trained beekeepers among other provinces.
Therefore, with the concerned partners, it is being advocated through the conduct of trainings and Information and Education Campaigns spearheaded by the Cordillera Regional Apiculture Center in the university, in the communities, to State Universities and Colleges and to non-government organizations. As a regional center, it is firm in its commitment to bring its services closer to the constituents since it was established in 2013.
The center still continues to support those who are trained but needs to be equipped more while it also provides technical assistance to starting apiaries. Among those who availed of the trainings and technical support includes the Winaca Eco-Cultural Village, a private owned tourist attraction in Tublay, Benguet. It manages honeybee hives as pollinators of their strawberries. A monthly monitoring is being conducted by the CRAC staff for the village’s hives while it still needs assistance.
In addition, the BSU-Research and Extension Services promotes the techno-packaging of knowledge products and technological interventions that further disseminate BSU’s technology and researches. One of which is the introduction of beekeeping to various institutions, organizations, national agencies and local government units he constituents.
Indeed, working with the bees may seem uncommon but like the hardworking insects, anyone could reap a sweet reward by simply taking care of them as friends that produce bee products while playing a significant role towards food security and biodiversity.