Beekeeping as source of livelihood for Aetas eyed

Beekeeping – or apiculture – can be a good source of income for the Aetas.

Beekeeping requires only a two-square meter area per colony. As long as there are good nectar and pollen sources within a three-kilometer radius, producing honey can be very viable. In Bataan, the nearby forests have tropical trees and diverse flora, which can provide a sustainable supply of nectar for the bees.

Under the program "S&T Intervention for the Poor, Vulnerable and Disabled", the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) provided funds for a study on commercial bee culture for the Aetas of Zambales.

Dr. Lourdes Cruz of the Center for Biomolecular Science Foundation Inc. (CBMSF), Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City, conducted the study. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), a Los Baños-based DoST council, coordinated and monitored the project. The project was implemented in Kanawan, Binaritan, Morong, Bataan.

The Aetas were trained on the basics of beekeeping through workshops, lectures, demonstrations, video, and field training.

In collaboration with the Department of Labor and Employment-Central Luzon, the Aeta communities were strengthened and their social well-being was enhanced through team-building exercises.

Honey production is the project’s ultimate goal. Market for honey is assured as competition is lesser because local producers are still few. Also, demand for honey is increasing. To date, the Philippines imports 300 tons of honey every year, and needs more. Furthermore, several companies from Japan and Korea have expressed interest in specialty products like narra, coffee, mango and other exotic honey from the Philippines.

The project ties up with Tobee’s Apiary to ensure that marketing of produced honey will not be a problem.

Beekeeping techniques adapted from local communities in Morong will soon be disseminated to other Aeta communities in Bataan. Likewise, a manual on beekeeping is now being prepared for interested individuals.

Source: The Manila Bulletin

Educating Farmers on RTCs, Growing Solutions to Food Security

     Bridging the information gap between the farmers and experts is the first big step towards embracing root and tuber crops (RTCs) as part of farmers’ livelihood systems and nutrition. Farmers, who are the producers of RTCs should clearly understand how RTCs provide affordable nutrition and opportunities to increase farmers’ income.

Figure 1. Dr. Roa demonstrates to the IPs the proper way of handling sweetpotato planting materials.

     The International Potato Center (known by its Spanish acronym, CIP) through the assistance of Center for BioMolecular Science Foundation, Inc. (CBMSF) visited the Mugbukin Aytas in Kanawan, Morong in Bataan on October 24, 2011 to encourage the community in planting RTCs particularly sweet potatoes for food security, health and nutrition. The community consists of 108 households,seventy four (74) of which are indigenous peoples.

Figure 2. The Aetas of Kanawan, Morong in Bataan and the CIP team after the sharing of beneficial information on RTCs.

Making this initiative possible were CIP’s network affiliates from different areas of expertise. Dr.Lourdes Cruz, a biochemist, National Scientist and also the president of CBMSF emphasized that the visit aims to disseminate to the Aetas the nutritional and economic significance of RTCs to individuals. These crops support the indigenous communities in combating hunger and poverty.Following the introduction was Dr. Julie Roa of Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center(PhilRootcrops). She enumerated and discussed different varieties of sweet potatoes found in the Philippines. She also shared the current initiatives of PhilRootcrops on seeds improvement and propagation. Dr. Roa demonstrated the proper way of planting sweet potatoes with specific distance between plants and its ideal way of handling. Dr. Trinidad Trinidad of Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) communicated to the Aetas the nutritional and health benefits of RTCs with an emphasis to children and pregnant women. The community members showed their enthusiasm and interest on RTCs by asking questions which were addressed by the experts.Capping off the visit was the distribution of planting materials to the Aeta community and feeding them steamed sweet potato. The Aetas showed to the team the site where they intend to cultivate the planting materials and conveyed their strong interest in including RTCs in their commodities.The team extended their commitment to go back to the community early in 2012 in order to assess the planted sweet potatoes. Furthermore, they also promised to bring additional RTCs planting materials and to discuss possible market matching for their produce.

Source: International Potato Center-User's Perspective With Agricultural Research and Development