Saturday, July 26, 2008 Benavidez: Beekeepers' national confab set in Baguio By Edmund B. Benavidez Light That Transforms
BEES have always been regarded as insects to be afraid of because of their painful stings, and thus should be eradicated like any other pests. Over the years, however, with the intensified advocacy to protect and conserve the environment, this notion has been slowly debunked by the benefits derived from bees especially with the introduction of apiculture or beekeeping.
Beekeeping weaves the linkage of environmental protection, economic development and well being of people. Bees are free and renewable resources that are responsible for the conversion of otherwise unused floral resource (like nectar and pollen) to products with high commercial value such as health food and medicine.
Beekeeping is, therefore, vital to increased agricultural production through pollination. Without bees many crops would produce little or no fruit or seed at all.
Bannering the theme "Beekeeping: Key to Food Security and Environmental Preservation", the 7th National Beekeepers' Convention will be held on October 23 to 25 this year in Baguio City particularly at Saint Louis University (SLU)'s Burgos gymnasium.
SLU was chosen as the co-host and venue by the Beekeepers Association of the Philippines Inc. (Bapi) in collaboration with the National Apiculture Research Training and Development Institute (Nartdi) of the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in Bacnotan, La Union, the Cordillera Beekeepers Federation, and other benefactors.
The convention is expected to draw about 500 participants from all over the country.
Since 1997, the SLU-Extension Institute for Small-Scale Industries Foundation Inc. (SLU-Eissif) has been in the forefront in advocating and propagating beekeeping in the Cordillera region with the general objective of improving socio-economic conditions and enabling beekeepers to contribute to sustainable development. Eissif will be playing major roles in this convention.
Many beekeepers are excited about the convention since it will be a venue for sharing experiences, technologies and best practices in beekeeping by the Regional Apiculture Centers. There will also be presentations of research outputs, and the establishment of networks and linkages among various stakeholders in the distribution of supplies, dissemination of information, and the commercialization of bee by-products.
The organizers expect that a synergy will be established in the relationship among farmer-fruit growers, producers and beekeepers.
The convention will broaden the awareness on the role of bees in creating balance in agriculture and environment which must be prioritized as a sustainable agri-business activity capable of enhancing the production of high value commercial crops, and as such be integrated, commercialized and supported under the Department of Agriculture's Agribusiness and Marketing Division.
It is also expected that the Nartdi as well as universities will present research-based beekeeping interventions that will improve the delivery of beekeeping extension services. Finally, workshops will be tackling problems and issues on marketing, production, and post harvest activities.
Albert Einstein aptly summarized these when he said, "If bees disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."
For inquiries, you may visit or call the SLU-Extension Institute for Small-Scale Industries Foundation, Incorporated (SLU-Eissif), Room C-016, Center for Culture and the Arts (CCA) building at SLU, tels. 443-9573 or 444-8246 (to 48 & 53) local 240; email: eissif@slu.edu.ph and eissif@gmail.com. Edmund B. Benavidez is Eissif's executive director.
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