Ministry of Agriculture conducts Honey Project Graduation Ceremony for 45 beekeepers from Northern Districts

Photo Credit: MAFSE

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) is this morning (Friday, February 17, 2023) conducting a Honey Project Graduation Ceremony for 45 participants in the Caricom Development Fund’s Honey Production Redevelopment Support Project for the Northern Districts.

Under the Caricom Development Fund honey project, a total of 93 beekeepers have participated in a mentorship program and were also provided with two intense training courses and equipment to start their honey producing enterprise. They will continue receiving assistance for a year after the program closes in December 2023.

The Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai said the Government of Belize is committed to the growth of honey production industry.

MAFSE Livestock Coordinator Andrew Mejia said the two training courses held in 2021 and 2022 were one-week each and the mentorship program was for five weeks. At the graduation ceremony on Friday, each of the 45 beekeepers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Caricom Development fund.

“They got boxes, bees, bees’ suits, wax; all the equipment needed to start a beekeeping enterprise,” Mejia said.

“We literally gave them everything they needed. The agreement with them is that they cannot sell, they cannot give away, they cannot destroy anything that we give them for a period of one year and the Ministry of Agriculture will be working with them after the project closes for a period of one year.”

The program that closes in December 2023 started in November 2018. Mejia said the value of the entire program is over US$300,000.

Forty-eight beekeepers from the Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo Districts graduated from the program in December 2022.