The Department of Agriculture (DA) will upscale or replicate nationwide a bee farming program it piloted in Occidental Mindoro with the aim of creating livelihood opportunities for people in the countryside including indigenous peoples (IPs).
Also, the DA sees a huge potential for the Philippines to export bee-based products, particularly honey.
“Honey is definitely a high-value agricultural produce. The export potential in honey is huge, but small cottage industries working separately and without government support cannot hope to produce the quantity and quality needed to exploit the global demand. We need an organized national program to cultivate our beekeeping industry,” said DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano.
He added the program was initially launched to help local Mangyan tribesmen generate income while introducing them to contemporary entrepreneurship practices.
The favorable results gleaned from these small-scale ventures have emboldened the department’s leadership to expand the program further, with an eye on supplying the demand for quality honey overseas, he noted.
Towards this goal, Savellano said the DA has partnered with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) on a shared vision to locally produce honey on a commercial scale while maintaining community-based beekeeping operations.
A team has already been established within UPLB to draw up a roadmap for tapping the export market for honey.
He pointed out that among the targeted destinations of Philippine honey is the United Kingdom (UK), as the British royals themselves have proven to be enthusiastic importers of the golden nectar.
Aside from its use as food, honey is also a raw material for other products such as antibacterial soaps, massage oils, lip balm and organic shampoo – all of which command premium prices abroad, the DA learned.
Savellano added that his office is now exploring funding options for the expanded beekeeping program through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
When the program becomes nationally operational, he said the DA will encourage beekeepers to cultivate native species of honey bees, because endemic varieties are more resilient, and renewed interest in them will help in their preservation.
Meanwhile, the undersecretary said the DA is set to establish an accreditation system for local beekeepers to eliminate the black market for queen bees, which has become rampant due to lack of government intervention in the past.
“Queen bee smuggling has been destroying our local industry,” he said.
