KINGSTON, Jamaica – Seventeen-year-old Khimali Johnson was surprised but elated when his name was announced as the winner of the beekeeping competition at the 2023 Jamaica 4-H Clubs’ National Achievement Exposition held recently at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon.

John son said that there were confident participants during the judging which lowered his confidence, however, he kept his composure.

The Manchester native and Bellefield High School head boy, who was new to beekeeping, said he attended the expo “not expecting much, but I did not let that show. I am very elated with the announcement that I won. I really could not believe it.”

Khimali, who was encouraged by his agriculture teacher to enter the competition, is proof of the value and impact of young people involved in agriculture in influencing others to join the sector.

“To be honest, I did not want to do it, but my teacher said that this is the best thing for me because it is technical and she trusts me with this, so I said I will go with it. Also, my brother does beekeeping, so he helped me in a way, not exactly [hands on] but I was watching him and learning from a distance,” Khimali related.

Agriculture teacher at Bellefield High and 2022 National Farm Queen, Sutanya Ellington said she identified Khimali’s potential and encouraged and nurtured him to victory in the competition.

“I knew he was a student with potential, so I asked him to enter. He developed a liking for it and at the parish level he won and started his own little bee farm. I arranged for him to get external training and we went together, and he loved it.

“I took him to a bee farm in Manchester and he got the opportunity to smoke a hive, observe the queen and all of that,” shared Ellington.

With the additional training and knowledge of best practices in beekeeping, Ellington felt her student was ready for the national competition and was not surprised that he won.

Along with a certificate and first-place trophy for beekeeping, Khimali also received two hive bodies, a veil, bee brush and toolbox to assist him on his farm.

This win, on such a grand scale, has encouraged the young beekeeper to have his business registered in the very near future and seriously pursue apiculture as a business.

Beyond hoping to be an inspiration for other youngsters, Khimali plans to pay it forward, by assisting youth from the parish of Manchester to enter 4-H competitions.

The Bellefield High head boy is also desirous of seeing more youth involved in agriculture to reduce the average age in the sector.

He is encouraging his peers to be creative.

“You are not limited in what you can do in agriculture. You can have your own way of doing your thing. Do what you like and do what makes you happy,” he said.

– JIS