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Monday, November 22, 2004
Mountain farmers now also beekeepers
KIBUNGAN, Benguet -- Unlike lowland dwellers who are said to be facing financial crisis and food shortages, highlanders like farmers in this remote town of about four hours bus ride from Baguio City have other alternatives - hunting, gathering root crops and wild fruits, among others.
Lately, they have also engaged in a new livelihood activity, which surely promises sweet returns - beekeeping. It all started sometime July when 11 representatives of a farmers association in this town along with some volunteers of the sponsoring group Cordillera Green Network (CGN) completed a 3-day basic beekeeping seminar workshop.
CGN, a non-government organization devoted to preservation, conservation and promotion of a green environment in the region, initially entered Kibungan early this year mainly for reforestation and tree-planting. They are supported by the Aeon Environmental Foundation based in Japan.
CGN Director Mariko Sorimachi-Banasan said upon consultation between their volunteers with the Kibungan farmer-beneficiaries, they gathered that the farmers were open to the prospect of beekeeping aside from reforestation and tree-planting activities. This prompted CGN to sponsor the workshop seminar. They provided the initial starter colonies and smokers for the Kibungan farmers after forging a memorandum of agreement with the farmers and also the Pines Beekeepers Cooperative for technical supervision and support.
Subsequently, the Farmers Livelihood Association here numbering over 30 and headed by Agustina Callasiao, committed to provide counterpart feeding, caring and management activities to sustain the bees and also pledged to plant some 10,000 seedlings of Calliandra in denuded mountain sides of this town. This was with the end in view of producing "green honey" in the near future.
Calliandra (Calliandra colothysus) has been identified as possible nectar source for "green honey" production as a result of a research conducted by University of the Philippines Baguio student researchers Amor Laurean and Cindy Cahilog in cooperation with Enrique Tayaotao Sr., vice chairman of the fledging PiBeeCo who served as technical critic. Calliandra is a tree species which grows over 10 meters in height with leaves like ipil-ipil and upright flowers that resemble the florets of the bottle-brush tree with a yellow-green nectar which can be converted into highly viscous, deep-green colored honey. Mature branches can be harvested for firewood.
Aside from learning about basic equipment, hive management, pests diseases, economics and return on investments and other aspects of beekeeping, the participants also visited the Benguet Beekeeping Service Center headed by director Edmund Benavidez.
As of the inspection this month, all of the Kibungan colonies are building up vigorously, having 10 regular frames of bees per colony, two of which are now double deckers, and ready for the honey flow season starting late this month up to December.
"If there are no drastic weather disturbances and the present rearing practices of farmers will continue, there is nothing to worry regarding the Kibungan colonies as they are building up fine," an inspection report stated.
Upon recommendation of PiBeeCo technical consultant group to the Kibungan farmer-beekeepers, the CGN purchased a manual for their colonies. And with the coming Yuletide season, the Kibungan beekeepers are just about ready to literally savor the sweet taste of success. (PR)
(November 22, 2004 issue)
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