The Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Pará (Emater-Pará), through the Local Office of Bom Jesus do Tocantins, holds, this Wednesday (30), in the auditorium of the City Council, the 1st Beekeeping Forum , starting at 8 am, with the participation of 50 interested parties. On the occasion, will be on the agenda: training and technical assistance for the beekeeper; its regularization; and the legalization of activities, so that production is duly certified and allows the commercialization of bee products.  

According to the municipal secretary of Agriculture, Luzineide Souza Moraes, the city hall, in partnership with Emater and other partners, has been creating real prospects for changes, expansion and improvements for the beekeepers of Bom Jesus do Tocantins, within the scope of the Sustainable Beekeeping Project, “ in the belief of building the future together”.

Emater’s local coordinator, Agricultural technician Adjaci Silva Rafael, says that honey production contributes to increasing family income and involves men, women and children in managing the apiary and marketing it, and is sustainable. The Forum, he recalls, is part of the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Program of Emater Pará (Proater).

For Emater’s regional supervisor, forestry engineer Fernando Araújo, who was the creator and played a strong role in implementing the Sustainable Beekeeping Project, when he coordinated the Bom Jesus office, the objective of the forum is to discuss the beekeeping and meliponiculture chain in terms of technical, productive and on the commercialization of derivatives based on honey. Emater, at a regional level, assists beekeeping experiences in the municipalities of Eldorado dos Carajás, Marabá, Canaã dos Carajás, Parauapebas and Piçarra.

Beekeeper Leandro Rodrigues Pinto made a quick assessment of the PAS: “We have advanced a lot with beekeeping in our municipality. It started with Emater, and now, with the support of the city hall, it is good and will go even further. The expectation in relation to the Forum is that we can bring more technical information and create opportunities for financial resources through public policies, especially focused on reforestation”.

What is PAS?

With the Sustainable Beekeeping Project (PAS), the Municipality of Bom Jesus do Tocantins encourages beekeeping with the donation of hives and equipment (smoker and overalls), and Emater provides technical assistance and rural extension and the development of rural credit projects, courses , lecture and installation of the discussion forum.

Today, there is a need to advance in terms of honey processing equipment (home/agribusiness). Currently, 12 beekeepers are assisted and 12 more are expected to join. In 2022, a ton of honey was collected. In October of this year there will be a new harvest.

Beekeeping and meliponiculture

Beekeeping is the science, or art, of keeping sting bees. It is a branch of zootechnics. The rational creation of bees for leisure or commercial purposes may aim, for example, at the production of honey, propolis, royal jelly, pollen, beeswax and poison. Bees are important pollinators of plants.

Meliponiculture is the rational breeding of stingless bees, especially of the Meliponini and Trigonini types. In meliponiculture, the hives are organized in meliponaries, a practice exercised for a long time by the native peoples of Latin America, especially those from Brazil and Mexico.

Apipara 2023

Apipará is the largest beekeeping and meliponiculture event in the Amazon, it is a Paraense Congress held annually by the Federation of Bee Breeders of Pará (Fapic), with the objective of contributing to the construction of the honey production chain in the State. This year, the 19th Congress of Beekeeping and Meliponiculture of the State of Pará will be held in Parauapebas, from October 25th to 28th.

The 1st Beekeeping Forum that takes place tomorrow in Bom Jesus has the support of the city hall, through the Secretary of Agriculture, the Agricultural Defense Agency of the State of Pará (Adepará), the City Council and the Department of Communication of the City Hall (Decom) .

(Ascom Emater)