Honey paths reinforce the importance of bees for the environment and for generating income

A wooded place, with wooden structures amidst shaded corridors, where several bee boxes can be seen, as well as equipment for bee management: this is how Caminhos do Mel can be summarized, a plot available at Espaço da Emater/RS, at the Assis Brasil Exhibition Park, during the 46th Expointer, in Esteio. There, extension agents from Emater/RS promote beekeeping and meliponiculture as income opportunities - especially for family farmers -, hold workshops and promote the exchange of experiences on the topic.

Known more traditionally as bees with stingers – the apis – and stingless bees – the meliponas – both have very particular characteristics, which are evident in space. “Apis are essentially productive not only with regard to honey, but also the production of other products with high added value, such as wax, propolis or royal jelly”, exemplifies Emater/RS extension worker Ricardo de Oliveira Valim. “On the other hand, meliponas have a more ecological appeal, of ecosystem sustainability”, he highlights.

Regarding both activities, Valim also highlights the possibility of taking Beekeeping or Meliponiculture courses, with a 24-hour workload, which are offered at the Montenegro Farmers Training Center (Cetam). “In the Beekeeping class, participants can learn more about the biology of bees, choosing the location of the apiary, equipment, swarm formation, hive management and honey harvesting and processing”, he mentions. In Meliponiculture training, topics such as the function of native stingless bees, the environment for the species and the multiplication of families are discussed.

The extension agent emphasizes the fact that beekeeping is quite traditional, although there is a certain barrier when it comes to technology. “Sometimes small innovations can mean big gains”, he analyzes. In this sense, Valim highlights recent research on integrated management between beekeeping and soybean farming – with gains in grain productivity, without compromising the health of the swarms. “Currently there are already a series of studies that highlight the potential of soy as a bee pasture, which results in a type of positive interaction, with an increase in crops combined with high quality honey”, he highlights.

The next courses at Cetam take place between the 13th and 15th of September (Beekeeping) and the 27th and 29th of September (Meliponiculture). Further information about training can be obtained on the website www.emater.tche.br, under the Training Centers link. The plot is in partnership with the Beekeeping Federation of Rio Grande do Sul (Fargs) and the Gaúcha Meliponiculture Association (AGMEL), among other entities. Emater/RS operates in conjunction with the State Government's Secretariat for Rural Development (SDR).