BREED NATIVE BEE SPECIES FOR BETTER HONEY
MUSCAT: Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan: Beekeeping is considered one of the old Omani professions, and one of the main sources of income for many families. It supports the national economy through exports.
An annual Omani honey market is held in the Sultanate with the participation of many beekeepers from various governorates in the Sultanate. The market represents a platform for honey producers to share expertise in the field of honey bee breeding.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, represented by the Directorate-general of Agriculture and Livestock in the governorates of South and North Al Sharqiyah in Ibra, is seeking to encourage the beekeepers to breed native bee species, to obtain abundant production of high quality honey.
Abdullah bin Salim al Harthy, Director of the Department of Beekeeping at the Directorate-general of Agriculture and Livestock in South and North Al Sharqiyah, said, “The Directorate provides the necessary support to beekeepers by providing tools that contribute to the breeding of indigenous bees, and the production of abundant quantities of Omani honey of high nutritional value. It also conducts many awareness programmes, lectures and seminars for beekeepers on the accurate methods of beekeeping. It distributes manuals about healthy methods for beekeepers. There are 488 beekeepers and 290,36 hives in the governorates of South and North Al Sharqiyah according to the Directorate’s statistics of 2019. “Among the conditions that must be met when establishing an apiary is that it should be in an agricultural area devoid of other bee apiaries, with no more than 100 hives, and that the area is quiet and away from pollution and noise. It is important to put the hives under trees to avoid exposing the bees to high temperatures in summer.”
Khamis bin Salim al Ghaithi, one of the beekeepers in the Wilayat of Ibra, said, “The honey beekeeping project yields good revenues. It creates job opportunities. Beeswax is used in many industries, the most important of which are the manufacture of wax structures, pharmaceuticals, candles and some types of cosmetics.”