A local beekeeper who is currently spearheading a project aimed at popularising the pursuit of apiculture as an economic venture among Region Seven communities is calling for a national convention of beekeepers from across the country to chart a course of action for the future of the industry.

Lyndon Stewart

“So far it has been a great deal of talk, particularly among the beekeepers, and very little action. I am aware that beekeepers are planning to meet with the national association to call for a national convention,” Lyndon Stewart, owner of the Georgetown-based Kingdom Apiaries told Stabroek Business in a recent interview.

Stewart, who presented a well-received paper on Apiculture in Guyana at last year’s Fifth Caribbean Bee Keepers Conference in Georgetown told Stabroek Business that he believed that closer collaboration among beekeepers across the country coupled with timely and sustained technical intervention from the Ministry of Agriculture could transform what is at present a sluggish local beekeeping industry into a major money-earner for Guyana.

Guyana imports more than 4,000 gallons of honey annually, mostly as a sweetener for beverages and Stewart told Stabroek Business that while accurate statistics are not officially available the estimated 200 beekeepers across the country produce more than 5,000 gallons annually from more than 1500 hives. Pure honey is sold on the world market at around US$16 per gallon and in his presentation to the 2008 regional beekeepers meeting, Stewart said that a fully developed local beekeeping industry could yield huge returns.

Organised beekeeping in Guyana is believed to date back to the 1930’s. The commencement of the pursuit saw the establishment of a National Bee Keepers Association with more than 100 members. Stewart told Stabroek Business that the industry shrunk significantly during the 1970’s following the appearance of the Africanized strain of bees with their reputation as killers. Stewart blames poor husbandry and genetic mutation for the eventual dominance of the invading species, pointing out that what has long been discovered is that their reputation as killers has been overly exaggerated.

Stewart told Stabroek Business that he was particularly concerned that while there was little if any locally produced honey to be seen on supermarket shelves in Guyana, brands like Foodtown are imported in significant quantities. He said that honey is in high demand both as a sweetener and for its medicinal value and that Guyana’s vast rainforest can probably support around 17 million colonies of bees.

Stewart conceded that in recent years the local Beekeepers Association had not done “nearly enough” to take the industry forward. “It really is a question of working together. There are beekeepers across the country who are pursuing apiculture on a commercial basis. The problem is that the industry as a whole is underdeveloped and not a great deal has been done to address issues like export markets, packaging and labelling. These, of course, are major issues the must be considered if the commercialization of the industry is to be taken seriously.

According to Stewart while it is not unlikely that some beekeepers may be exporting honey on a small scale most of the honey produced in Guyana was being sold to private customers rather than to distributors and retailers. “A great deal of the honey that is used in the commercial sector is imported.

Most of what is produced at home is used medicinally,” Stewart said.

The Pomeroon is one of the busiest beekeeping areas in Guyana with an estimated 100 hives being tended in that area and beekeepers in the area have established an independent Association. Some areas of West Berbice including Fort Wellington and Abary are home to the largest apiaries in Guyana while a few small beekeeping operations are located at Mahaica.

Most of the beekeepers in Region Four have apiaries in the secondary forests of the Soesdyke/Linden Highway while some amount of beekeeping activity takes place in Region Nine.

Currently, Stewart is conducting training for more than 30 beekeepers in upper Region Seven with funding from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Asked to comment on Stewart’s view that the beekeeping industry can develop into a major money-earner for Guyana, a Ministry of Agriculture source told Stabroek Business that much of the responsibility for taking the industry forward lay with the private sector. “We had thought that last year’s regional beekeepers’ conference would have energised the sector but that has not been the case,” the source said, adding that government had done its part by facilitating duty-free concessions for apiculture equipment for persons wishing to invest in the industry.

According to the source the Ministry’s role in the sector was confined mainly to capturing and relocating or destroying bees and providing breeding stock for the industry.