Perone Bee Hive Technology workshop deemed a success

The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Transformation, Forestry and Fisheries, in collaboration with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Beekeepers Association (SVGBA) and the Inter-American Institute for Corporation on Agriculture (IICA), hosted a two-day training workshop to introduce the Perone hive technology to St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The workshop was held on Tuesday, May 23 and Wednesday, May 24, at the Fisheries Division conference room.

The project involves the training of local beekeepers and the construction, establishment, monitoring and evaluation of 12 Perone hives in four apiaries across St Vincent and the Grenadines. The new technology will create more space for the bees to inhabit and reduce human intervention. The objectives of the workshop were to:

o To reduce beeswax importation

o Establish 40 percent Perone hives among domesticated colonies in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

o Promote the increase of local beeswax and premium honey production.

o Upgrade the Perone hive technology with further innovation in order to improve production and management.

The workshop was facilitated by agriculture instructor Allan Williams and came about as a result of training he attended in St Lucia, in November 2016. At the opening ceremony Williams said that introducing this new technology will allow beekeepers to adopt and adapt a more sustainable method in the beekeeping industry. He also mentioned that this method reverts to a more traditional way of beekeeping.

Michael Dalton,

technical specialist with IICA, which provided funding for all training sessions and this project, informed the gathering of the long association between IICA and the SVGBA over the years and wishes to continue partnership in the future through the introduction of new technology by providing resources and training. He encouraged participants to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them and to put into action the knowledge gained.

Beverly Reddock, president of the SVGBA, urged the participants to practise and learn all new technology that is available and listed some of the benefits of this new technology, which includes improving our natural source of honey and the reduction of the importation of beeswax in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The training and evaluation of this project consists of five different phases, which will take place over the next six-month period. The workshop ended successfully with the participation of approximately 28 persons with 96 per cent of the participants accepting the new technology.