Agriculture and Lands Minister, Roger Clarke (right) and Eric Swaby (left), member of the All-Island Bee Farmers Association (AIBFA) watch as the new processing plant in Linstead, St. Catherine processes and packages honey while on a tour of the $15.9 million facility on Tuesday. Also witnessing the operation are Robert Pickersgill (centre), Member of Parliament for the area and other members of the AIBFA. - nathaniel stewart/freelance photographer

The PROSPECTS of the island bee-keeping industry is set to improve with the commissioning into operation of a new processing plant to refine and package honey at international standards.

The processing plant, which was commissioned into operation on Tuesday by Agriculture and Lands Minister, Roger Clarke, costs just over $15 million and has been outfitted to process 778 gallons of honey in an eight-hour workday. The project was funded by the Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP) to the tune of $11 million and the remainder by the All-Island Bee Farmers Association (AIBFA).

According to Mr. Clarke, "There is money to be made in the beekeeping industry and we are taking deliberate steps to equip our farmers to avail themselves of the opportunities presented here to increase their earnings."

Assistance

He said the "plant will assist the farmers to make that necessary link between primary production and marketing of value-added products." The minister pointed out that this was just one component of a three-pronged strategy to position the bee-keeping subsection to meet world-class standards and provide farmers with the opportunity to exploit the income-earning potential of honey production, estimated to worth billions.

He noted that there have been enquiries for Jamaican honey from interests in the United Kingdom, Germany and other European Union countries, but the industry has been unable to capitalise on the offers due to insufficient supply.

While honey production has doubled in the last five years to 117,000 gallons in 2005, it is far less than the 150,000 gallons one U.K. company wants to import from Jamaica or the 300,000 gallons another German company wants to import.

Winfield Murray, the president of the AIBFA, explained that an apiary comprising 100 colonies had the potential to earn an estimated $6.5 million after five years. It costs an estimated $500 to produce one gallon of honey. A gallon of honey fetches at least $1,200 per gallon.

"The Jamaican bee-keeping industry has the potential to be a cornerstone in the building of the Jamaican economy," Mr. Murray said. The AIBFA has 1,500 registered bee farmers islandwide.