A group of potential and current beekeepers mainly from the Beekeepers Association of Seychelles are honing their techniques in a technical training workshop so as to improve their practice.
The week-long workshop which kicked off yesterday at the Roche Caiman community centre is being conducted by the ‘Ridge to Reef Project’ for the Beekeepers Association of Seychelles (BAS) in partnership with the department of Agriculture and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Small Grants Programme.
The training was officially launched by Dr Elliud Muli, a professor and researcher at the South Eastern Kenya University. Dr Muli, who will be leading the week-long training, majors in entomology and yesterday morning he gave an in-depth introduction to beekeeping and the related sustainable development goals. He then answered questions from the participants.
The aim of the workshop is to provide technical knowledge to beekeepers so as to ensure best practice among the beekeeping community in Seychelles.
Dr Muli, who is a beekeeper himself back in Kenya, explained that bees play a critical role in conservation and the training would help promote this.
“My honest opinion is that a lot can be done in Seychelles. The potential is here, but not much is being done and I think this is where the efforts need to go,” Dr Muli remarked.
He described the state of beekeeping in Seychelles as “still at an infancy or baby level”, as the beekeepers manage very few hives.
There are currently about 35 professional beekeepers who form part of the BAS, and around 100 beekeepers in total in the country according to surveys that were conducted together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment.
Dr Muli acknowledged that creating more awareness on the role and the importance of bees, will lead to more people keeping bees and as a result this will hopefully reduce the cost of locally-produced honey.
“I think honey is very expensive because very few people produce it. When only a few people are producing it, then only a few people will be able to afford it,” said Dr Muli.
The vice-chairperson of the BAS, Patrick Samson, stated that unlike in other countries around the world, the bees in Seychelles are not being threatened by any major parasites such as varroa mites or small hive beetles.
“We want to educate people so they can understand that we need to preserve the honey bees here in Seychelles,” Mr Samson stressed.
He further added that the apiculture sector is not being exploited as much as it should and expressed the hope that the training will enlighten and broaden the knowledge of beekeepers in numerous related aspects of beekeeping.
Source: Seychelles Nation