Wikipedia:WikiProject Antigua and Barbuda/Article incubator/Beekeeping in Antigua and Barbuda

In Antigua and Barbuda, beekeeping began in 1945 as an informal industry when people began harvesting honey from bees that were living in trees.

History

After the beginning of informal beekeeping in 1945, in 1982 the Meals from Millions/Freedom from Hunger Foundation offered the first beekeeping programme in Antigua. This programme offered both technical and financial assistance to the few beekeepers that were located on the island. Hank Theones facilitated the beekeepers' training process and demonstrated the removal of hives from houses and trees.

Prior to the beginning of the beekeeping project in Barbuda, it was commonly believed that the island did not have any native bee species. Following a trip to Barbuda in 1987, during which it was checked to see if there was enough food for bees to forage and council members were met with, it was determined that the island did not. More than a dozen beekeepers were educated on the island of Barbuda, and more than twelve beehives were shipped there.

Beekeeping in Barbuda after Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma made landfall on Antigua and Barbuda on September 6, 2017, but Barbuda took the brunt of the storm because the eye of the category 5 hurricane passed directly over it. As a result, the damage on Barbuda was significantly worse. A significant amount of damage was done to the agricultural sector, specifically the crops, livestock, and bees, as well as the fishing industry, infrastructure, machinery, and equipment. Even though the hurricane's effects were devastating, they did present a window of opportunity to develop environmentally friendly food and agricultural systems that were planned with the challenges posed by climate change in mind. After a period of four years, the agriculture recovery program has resulted in the establishment of an agro-industrial facility. This facility is a partnership between the public sector and the private sector, and it houses production, processing, storage, packaging, and marketing under one roof. A decision was made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Barbuda Affairs to implement a Green Island concept in the process of reestablishing Barbuda's agricultural industry. The idea promotes organic agriculture with priorities in the areas of compliance with food safety requirements, protected agriculture, efficient use of water resources, intensive farming systems for small ruminants, and value-chain development through processing and packaging (jams, juices, honey, pepper sauce, coconut oil, and animal feed). Additionally, the concept places an emphasis on preserving biodiversity in agricultural settings. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in a collaborative effort, will seek to build the capacity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), towards improving the food security, livelihoods, and resilience of the impacts of climate change, which will improve the production capacity. In alignment with the priorities expressed in the national adoption of the Green Island concept, FAO and IICA will seek to build the capacity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Training for the Honey Value Chain in Antigua and Barbuda was the name of the capacity building initiative that kicked off the activities that were going to be carried out as part of the project from the 9th -11th of August 2021 in Barbuda. The initiative was carried out by a group of local consultants from IICA, with the assistance of a virtual representative from the FAO Sub-regional Office in Barbados. These individuals carried out a number of activities with an emphasis on the production of logwood honey, which is derived from the nectar of the logwood tree's flowers by bees. Building capacity among new beekeepers was the primary focus of the activities, which included training exercises designed to acquaint producers with skills related to business management. This was done to ensure that producers adhere to sound business principles when managing the supply point along the value chain that corresponded to their particular operation. The participants received training in the various elements of the value chain, such as inputs, production and its practices, marketing and distribution, each of which has an impact on the product that is ultimately produced. In addition to the training sessions for new beekeepers, the project implementation activities included primary data collection in the form of interviews with local apiculturists to gain an understanding of the local commodity market. These interviews were conducted in conjunction with the training sessions for new beekeepers. The goal of these interviews was to establish a foundation for future apiculturists. The Project Coordinator for FAO, Vermaran Extavour, extended a warm welcome to attendees of the first training session by saying, "On behalf of FAO, I welcome you all to this important training which will have multiple layers for learning which will add value to your business." A market-driven approach, one in which decisions about the final products offered to customers are driven by data and evidence, is essential to the establishment of a profitable business, which is another point I feel compelled to stress. "We are thrilled to roll out this project as a collaborative effort between FAO and IICA," said Craig Thomas, National Consultant at the IICA Antigua Delegation in the meantime. This project brings the medium-term plans of both organizations in the regional member states into alignment and provides a wealth of opportunities to meet the priorities of Antigua and Barbuda. Due to the fact that there are only three (3) active local beekeepers in Barbuda who produce a product of a high quality, it has been difficult to satisfy the demand for honey in the local market. On the other hand, the participants who were selected by the Barbuda Council in order to benefit from the training that covered the business development for beekeeping, beekeeping management, as well as the opportunities and challenges for the honey value chain in Barbuda, are now well poised to meet this demand. Each participant was given a start-up apiary kit, which consisted of a brood box, a super, ten frames, wax foundation, a bee brush, a smoker, a bee suit, and a hive tool. These are the basic inputs that a new beekeeper would require in order to start an apiary. Mojan Joseph, who took part in the training, said, "I would like to express my gratitude to the FAO and IICA for the training as well as the starter kits, both of which will be put to good use in my beekeeping business." A mentorship program will be used by the facilitators, along with the assistance of the Antigua Beekeepers Cooperative (ABC), and the local senior beekeepers in Barbuda, to monitor these new business persons and ensure that appropriate business and management decisions are followed. New beekeepers will be able to gain access to current information and guidance from experts at the IICA Antigua delegation as well as experienced local beekeepers by participating in a mentorship program that is currently being developed. Additional training in the Honey Value Chain began in Antigua on August 19, 2021, and continued until August 31, 2021. This training is aimed at an established and new 20 beekeepers, as well as the technical staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries, and Barbuda Affairs.

In 2018, the donation of equipment to the local beekeeping industry was made possible by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). Together, these two organizations contributed a total of five thousand dollars' worth of equipment. Yesterday, during a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, the equipment was presented to Arthur Nibbs, who serves as the Minister of Agriculture. Beekeepers in Antigua will make use of the remaining portion of the material, while a sizeable portion of it, amounting to three thousand dollars' worth, will be shipped to Barbuda in order to assist the local farmers there. Both organizations have been working together on a number of projects as part of their efforts to rebuild Barbuda's agricultural industry, which was obliterated by Hurricane Irma in September of last year. The hurricane caused widespread devastation in the country's agricultural sector. According to Craig Thomas, a national specialist for the IICA, the group traveled back to the sister island in order to carry on with their work there. "During our stay, which is expected to last somewhere between three and four days, we will continue to monitor and assess the activities that we have already put into place. Farmers and workers who are employed by the Barbuda Council will be invited to participate in one of the three capacity-building workshops that will be held at the Sir McChesney George Secondary School, according to Thomas. According to the representative of the IICA, since the Category 5 storm passed over Barbuda, both organizations have contributed more than $200,000 in the form of material and labor to the country's agricultural sector. They have focused particularly on redeveloping the plant-based side of the sector, working with livestock farmers and small ruminant farmers, restoring the greenhouse at the secondary school on Barbuda, and are now working with beekeepers. According to Paul Lucas, the local CARDI representative for Antigua and Barbuda, the team's primary objective will be to work toward further developing the beekeeping industry on Barbuda. Honey produced in Barbuda is said to have a flavor and consistency unlike any other honey produced elsewhere, according to those involved in the agriculture industry. According to Lucas, "CARDI has gone ahead to order the labels and will be developing those labels specific to Barbuda, recognising that the honey is of a certain quality and it is an area which could generate more interest." "CARDI has gone ahead to order the labels and will be developing those labels specific to Barbuda." Irma inflicted severe damage on the Caribbean island of Barbuda, and the decision was made to evacuate the entire population of the island.

Antigua Beekeepers Cooperative Society

The improvements that were made to the Society's headquarters in Belmont Estate were made possible thanks to a grant of US $16,000 that was obtained from the Australian High Commission through the efforts of the Inter American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), which worked in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture. In an interview with the Antigua Observer, the National Specialist for IICA, Craig Thomas, stated that the organization collaborated with the President of the Beekeepers Corporative, Brent Georges, in 2019 on the initial proposal for the project, which ultimately did not succeed. When that request was looked over again and re-submitted, it was granted approval the previous year. "The project is valued at $16,000 US dollars, and with in-kind contribution, it will be valued at over $25,000 US dollars. Rehabilitating the central extracting facility for the Beekeepers Cooperative is the primary objective of this project. "With this central facility, all beekeepers will be able to use it at a low cost, which will go toward maintenance," Thomas said. A lot of beekeepers do not have an extraction facility and would have to go to different places to access one. Work on the building's plumbing, electrical systems, and painting will also be performed as part of the renovation. The facility is currently being cleaned in preparation for additional renovations, which will take place later.

Young people in Beekeeping

In 2018, the Antigua and Barbuda Beekeeping Cooperative, the Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development (GARD) Centre, the Australian Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Mill Reef fund have formed a partnership to educate a group of young people in beekeeping, beeswax soap making, and the construction of bee boxes. Twenty-two of them are currently participating in a training course that lasts for ten weeks and covers a variety of topics, such as how to manage bee hives, how to collect swarms, how to make soaps and creams from beeswax, and how to manage a business. According to June Jackson, who is acting as the executive director of the GARD Centre, it is expected of the participants that they will use the training they receive to become business owners in the apiculture industry. She stated that "we want them to become their own entrepreneurs and that is what the trainers have been assisting them with – setting up of their own beekeeping and soap making industry." "We want them to become their own entrepreneurs and that is what the trainers have been assisting them with," She also stated that several of the trainers were willing to assist the participants in maintaining their businesses beyond the scope of the workshop. "I already have commitment from a few trainers who said that they will still check up on them to see how they are doing outside of the actual completion of the training," the acting executive director said. "I will continue to check up on them to see how they are doing outside of the actual completion of the training." The local beekeeping industry, which has been experiencing difficulties as of late, is expected to receive a boost as a result of the workshop, as stated in a press release issued by the GARD center. Jackson said, "Because of the hurricane [Irma] that passed nearby not too long ago, some people would have experienced severe damage to their beehives." He was referring to one of the difficulties that had been presented. A lot of people are cutting down trees because of the dry weather, [which is necessary] for the bees to live and to produce honey that these people would want to use and sell. She went on to say that the process of clearing land has also had an effect on the construction of bee hives. The Mill Reef Fund and the Australian Embassy provided funding in order to purchase beekeeping suits, lumber to be used in the construction of bee boxes, trainer fees, and other equipment.

Statistics

Number of beekeepers by sex/age

Gender	Age 15-25	Age 25-35	Age 35-45	Age 45-55	Age 55-65	Age 65 and above
Female	0	2	3	2	1	2
Male	3	4	11	3	1	4

It is estimated that there are between 460 and 480 colonies that are managed by members of the Antigua and Barbuda Beekeepers Cooperative. It is estimated that another 150 hives are managed by people who are not members. The Longstroth Hive, which is utilized in Antigua and Barbuda despite the presence of drought, typically produces a yield of sixty to seventy pounds (five and a half to four gallons) annually. Under typical circumstances, the local beehives typically produce between 100 and 120 pounds of honey (10-11 gal).