Collaborate to turn stingless bee farming into moneymaker – Shafie
A solid holistic collaboration is needed to turn stingless bee farming into a moneymaker for a future highincome Malaysia status, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
Shafie said stingless bee farming, introduced by Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) in 2004, is a new alternative species which is free from diseases and requires simple farm management practices that could be operated as a part-time job.
"Malaysia needs a new alternative source of income to achieve a targeted high-income nation status.
"One of the potential projects in agriculture is the stingless bee farming," said Shafie, whose speech was delivered by Deputy Chief Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, at the 2nd International Stingless Bee Conference and Workshop (ISBCW) 2019 at TH Hotel here yesterday.
"The demand for honey and other by-products and services from the stingless bee keeping activities are to be explored and connected in to the supply-chain concept of management. Stingless bee honey has been listed as a Malaysian super-food by Mardi and demand for it has increased, as people are more aware of its benefits.
"Currently, the government is finding ways to develop stingless bee farming and at the same time transform the agriculture sector through modernizing and commercializing the industry along with the whole supply and value chain," he added.
Shafie said, however, bee domestication, problems with queen rearing, low honey production, inconsistency in quality and the high price of honey, dumping of adulterated honey on the local market, the lack of Malaysian honey standard, and no existing body or centre to monitor bee keeping development have become major challenges in the stingless bee industry.
"Therefore, a strong holistic collaboration between the government, private sectors, public and professionals are paramount to ensure the sustainability and profitability of stingless bee industry," added Shafie.
The ISBCW 2019, organized from July 31 to August 3, is jointly organized by the International Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), UiTM Sabah and Korporasi Pembangunan Desa (KPD) Sabah.