KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries J C Hutchinson is urging more Jamaicans to invest in beekeeping, as it offers lucrative returns on investment.

He made the call last Thursday, while addressing bee farmers at the Hanover Bee Farmers Co-operative Society’s 5th Annual General Meeting in Esher, Hanover.

“As a beekeeper, you do not require large acreages to establish an apiary; it is not labour intensive; and, if managed properly, the returns on your investment can be significant,” Minister Hutchinson, who advised that training was available for new entrants by the ministry’s Apiculture Unit.

According to a news release from the ministry on Monday, Minister Hutchinson commended the Hanover bee farmers for their contribution to the increase in honey production that moved from 117,548 gallons in 2005 to an estimated 247,000 gallons in 2016. He further stated that for the 2017 honey crop, it is projected 288,000 gallons of honey will be reaped, resulting in an earning of just under $J1.8 billion from the sale of honey.

The beekeeping industry is a fast-growing one, Minister Hutchinson said, with some 48,000 registered and managed hives in 2016.

This, he said, represents an increase of over 300 per cent in the number of bee hives in production compared to 2005. He, however, noted that attainment of the production goal was dependent on having good quality queen bees and urged the farmers to focus their attention on producing more queen bees to meet the growing demand of the industry, as well as plant crops which assist with the pollination process.

Minister Hutchinson acknowledged the negative impact of climate change on the development of the honeybees and hive products and stated that the ministry has been implementing several interventions to improve the capabilities of the industry to respond. These include training for beekeepers and technocrats at the ministry with funding from the Jamaica Rural Economy and Ecosystems Adapting to Climate Change (JaREEACH) and providing a matrix for beekeepers to increase their resilience to better cope with climate change.

The 36-member Hanover Bee Farmers Co-operative Society, which has been registered with the Department of Co-operatives and Friendly Societies since 2010, recently received a bottling plant, funded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund on lands donated by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority.