Beekeepers get headquarters at Union Vale |30 December 2020

In a small ceremony held at Union Vale yesterday morning, the Beekeepers Association of Seychelles was handed its new headquarters by the National Biosecurity Agency followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change.

The lease agreement was signed by the chairman of the Beekeepers Association of Seychelles (BAS) Arthur Toule and the chief executive of the National Biosecurity Agency (NBA) Marc Naiken in the presence of Flavien Joubert, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change and staff of the ministry, NBA and members of BAS.

The new office facility, previously used as the plant health and diagnostic lab, consists of training rooms, a sales point and storage for the beekeepers’ equipment and tools.

The agreement signed entails that the BAS will take due care of the office facilities leased from NBA and ensure that the new office base adequately serves the needs of the beekeeping community across the country.

Mr Toule also signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which formalised the responsibilities of BAS and the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change (MAECC) in regards to promotion and support of the healthy growth of the apiculture industry in Seychelles, the collaboration between these partners expects to provide expert training to apiculture farmers and general educational programmes for the general public, and to raise awareness about the apiculture industry in Seychelles.

There will also be cooperation with NBA to ensure proper diligence is exercised in protecting the local apiculture industry from the threat of diseases carried by pests of both local and foreign origin. A very serious threat is the fast spreading Varroa mite, a parasite that is affecting most parts of the world, except the Comoros, Rodrigues and Seychelles.

In a short speech, Minister Joubert highlighted the importance of bees and beekeeping in Seychelles and how crucial it is for us all to protect our bees from pests such as the Varroa mite.

“It is good to emphasise the pivotal and vital roles that bees play to keep the biodiversity intact and continuously supply fruits and vegetables through one of their primordial roles which is pollination, without which, fruit, seed and vegetable production would be severely affected,” stated Minister Joubert.

“Through the chairperson of the BAS, three experts from Reunion Island were invited to hold talks and conduct training for the locals on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. These talks and training will continue so that the country is well prepared in the event that the pest reaches our shores,” noted Minister Joubert.

Honey production in Reunion Island has been severely affected by the Varroa mite.

Iza Amade