IICA and Argentina will promote the production of honey in the Caribbean



The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Argentina reported Friday that they will boost honey production in the Caribbean based on a new variety of hives.

The regional project called API Caribe, which will have the contribution of specialized technicians to increase the productivity of the hives, will be implemented in Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

"API Caribe seeks to promote scientific beekeeping as an integrated agricultural practice to increase crop productivity, this by supporting pollination and the production of honey and other bee products, and thus increasing the income and welfare of the producers, "said the Director of External and Institutional Relations of IICA, Beverly Best.

IICA will coordinate the advice of specialists from Argentina, the third largest exporter of natural honey in the world. The experts will facilitate in those Caribbean nations the installation of perone hives, whose performance is greater than the Langstroth hives, traditionally used in those countries.

The initial phase began this month and will be implemented over a year. The second phase is expected to be extended to other Caribbean countries and would be applied to the measure of the specific demands and priorities of each nation for the development of its beekeeping.

Beekeeping by its nature requires a healthy physical environment to thrive and provides a barometer of nature in terms of the quality of air, water, soil and sources of pollen and nectar within a given space.

The scarce waste involved in the production of honey makes beekeeping an ideal industry to adopt the bioeconomy approach, which seeks sustainable development based on production and consumption patterns aligned with the conservation of resources and adaptation to change climate.

API Caribe will guarantee the transfer of knowledge and the development of productive capacities, in order to ensure the sustainability of the project interventions.

The high vulnerability of the Caribbean countries to the impacts of climate change and the great potential of beekeeping to generate socioeconomic benefits in the rural communities of the Caribbean make the project an attractive opportunity to direct the economies of these nations towards sustainability .

In addition, according to the authorities, the Caribbean has great potential for beekeeping, given its rich diversity in flora and fauna.

The initiative will be developed through cooperation between the Ministries in charge of Agriculture of these countries and the Institute.

. (tagsToTranslate) IICA (t) Argentina (t) will drive (t) production (t) Caribbean



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