MORE NEWS, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

Expert cites Mt Prov bee business potentials
By Dexter A. See

BONTOC, Mountain Province — A retired Canadian mathematics teacher, who has been an apiarist for over 37 years now, cited potentials of bee keeping which could help in nurturing forests and protecting the environment in the province.

Charles Polcyn and his wife Berna Polcyn were in town upon the initiative of the Northern Apiary Culture Research Training Institute based in the Don Mariano Marcos State University and headed by Dr. Apolinario Sito, apiary expert and director.

Polcyn is a volunteer adviser of the Canadian Executive Service Office, a service agency providing technology transfer and technology assistance in the field of agriculture, fishery, forestry and the natural environment.

The apiary expert said this is not the first time they came to the Philippines as other beekeeper groups in other parts of the country have also availed themselves of their expertise.

The Mountain Province State Polytechnic College a seminar-workshop on apiary culture to boost the industry in the province because of its importance in preserving and protecting nature.

Polcyn said an investment of P100 could generate an average return of P800 provided there is proper support and assistance extended to the beekeepers.

Alvin Ayugat and Elpicio Marrero Jr., apiary experts of the MPSPC apiary production project, estimated that a local colony of apis milipera (domestic bees) could at most produce two kilos of honey, a quantity which is much higher than the observed production capacities of the apis cerrana or the local bee species, locally known as "aleg" or wild bees.

Dr. Nieves A. Dacyon, MPSPC president, said production data on apis dolsata, locally known as "uyokan," is an interesting field of study, noting the strengthening of the conduct of researches in support of the school’s programs for poverty reduction and sustainable development.

In the MPSPC apiary project, there are 60 colonies of bees which are being maintained at the school’s Baang Campus in Bauko town.