By JEREMIAH M. OPINIANO
www.ofwjournalism.net

IRISAN, Baguio City – THE afternoon sun cuts through the chill here and casts light on metal cages where thousands of honeybees dash through and fro.

“Welcome to Cypress Apiary,” Florida Labon said at her backyard that houses the 20 metal enclosures of honeybees.

Overlooking the slopes of one side of Baguio City, these colonies provide the daily source of income for Labon and her young daughter.

More than that, these represent the desire of the Cordillera Beekeepers Overseas Workers Association Inc. (Cobowai) to make beekeeping a viable economic venture, enough to dim the allure of working in Alberta, Canada.

The 63 members of Cobowai, 22 of who are former migrant workers, are hoping that apiculture—the art of caring and culturing honeybees—would allow them to stay in Cordillera permanently (instead of going to Canada certain times of the year to do the same work but for much bigger money than what they earn here — Editor).

Cobowai, formerly the Baguio Beekeepers Group of Overseas Workers and Dependents, was formed in 2001 by two Filipinos who returned home after working as beekeepers in Canada.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) training assistance program funded the group’ skill development activities. On its own, it raised P10,000 from membership dues to jumpstart beekeeping activities.

By 2002, its funds rose to 40,000 and its revolving credit facility for members amounted to P22,000. Today, Cobowai has over P90,000 in funds, Labon, the group’s president, said.

“For (the group’s) combined resources and work-acclaimed ingenuity to create an impact on the local economy,” President Gloria Arroyo in 2002 gave Cobowai the Outstanding Overseas Filipino Investors award.

Business buzz

HONEY in Baguio sell for P150 (US$2.90) a bottle. Labon makes a rough net annual income of P100,000 (US$1,934) from selling everyday a minimum of two bottles of honey harvested from her apiary. (US$1=P51.70) Her apiary can produce 25 to 60 kilos of pure honey during the honey season every November to February.

A 2001 study by the Cordillera Studies Center of the University of the Philippines shows that Cordillera which stands at 1,000-1,700 feet above sea level, is “ideal for honeybee production.” Its altitude and diverse farm corps, forest plants, and vegetation produce a wide variety of nectar and pollen.

The sunflower, which is native to the region and which blooms from October to December, “especially gives Cordillera-produced honey a distinct quality,” the Center states.

Cordillera has three species of honeybees: the apis cerana (aleg), the apis dorsata (locally called pukyutan), and the apis m. melllifera (cultured bees).

“CAR has many beekeepers” –500 in Baguio City alone, Labon said—“but there is no government support, especially from the Department of Agriculture.”

However, the National Economic Development Authority of the Cordillera Administrative Region (NEDA-CAR) identified only the Bauko municipality in Mountain Province as the sole processor of honey among the six CAR provinces.

Foreign pistils

DESPITE positive conditions in the Cordillera, Cobowai members opt to go to Canada for the bee-culturing season that runs from June to November.

They can’t be blamed since gross earnings run from P2.73 million to P3.65 million (CAN$60,000 to 80,000) in Alberta, Canada’s leading beekeeping province. (CAN$1=P45.52)

While the Philippine’s minimum daily wage for eight hours of work is just under P400 or less than CAN$1 an hour, Alberta pays each worker P500.72 (CAN$11) for an hour’s work, according to Labon.

The Canadian pay includes overtime, as the offer, Labon added, can stretch to 10 to 16 hours a day.

Alberta demands this much since it produces the most Canadian honey at 40 percent. Average production is 141 pounds per hive annually, twice the world average, according to a report by the Alberta government’s agriculture, food, and rural development division.

Approximately one-half of the honey is sold to domestic consumers or processors, while an average of 9,000 to 14,000 metric tons is exported annually.

The Alberta government cited that China remains the top exporter in the world honey market, supplying 30 to 35 percent. Mexico and Argentina follow, supplying 20 percent and 15 to 20 percent, respectively.

The report identified the three biggest honey importers as Germany, Japan, and the US.
The US produces 50 percent of North American honey, but also consumes most of it, the report noted, adding “since 1994, US imports have ranged from 40,000 to 74,000 metric tons every year.”

The US is the largest importer of Canadian honey, purchasing 50 to 80 percent of annual exports.

Sting of dreams
WITH such huge international market, it is a wonder why the country’s and the Cordillera’s beekeeping industry isn’t as developed as it should be.

Lack of support by local government, lack of appreciation by the public and by lending institutions, and limited resources are affecting the growth of Cobowai’s work, Labon sighed.
Labon also thinks that there is not enough public information on beekeeping, so support from lending and government institutions is limited as well.

Likewise, access to supplies and chemicals for culturing honeybees and medicine, all imported, remains a barrier to business development.

Labon also said some Cordillera people are afraid to venture into raising more honeybees as bee colonies could get easily ruined.

Finally, income from honeybee remains miniscule. Though considered a success, Labon’s gains from her home-based business can be likened, well, to a bee, when compared with what she could earn in Alberta.