They assist beekeepers and position the Chaco in the world through organic honey from the bush
23 Feb 2021
“We work to strengthen the production processes and the entire beekeeping chain, to continue positioning it as one of the leading regional economies of the Chaco and the world,” said the Secretary of Territorial Development and Environment, Marta Soneira.
The Secretariat of Territorial Development and Environment, in a joint effort with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation, and the Administration of National Parks, finances beekeepers from Las Garcitas through the Global Environment Fund (GEF) to that they can boost their activity and start thinking about exports.The Las Garcitas Beekeepers Commission received 50 thousand dollars that contributed to the purchase of materials and equipment to supply honey to the local community, thinking about the manufacture of quality products from exportation.
Thanks to this contribution, it has been possible to buy more than 500 brood chambers, around 200 swarms, more than 600 medium-rise boxes, elements necessary for carrying out the activity, such as sugar and wax, and the refurbishment of a room began extraction. Secretary Marta Soneira highlighted “the importance of this food value chain in caring for the environment and its consequent sustainability, which allows generating genuine and stable sources of work.”
For his part, Raúl Bejarano, president of the Las Garcitas Beekeepers Commission said that “the accompaniment of Ambiente also helps to protect the forest.” “We who come from the environment, from honey, from the bee, it seems very important to preserve our place,” he said.
The commission has been active since 1988 and is made up of 13 beekeepers. Currently, they have more than 500 active hives that produce 50 kilos of pure honey per core. With this, they supply the local community, but the idea is that with the new extraction room and the contributions received they can begin to export to the rest of the country and the world.
The purest honey: from the Chaco mountain to the world
Organic honey from the Chaco mountain is a product that has positioned the province in the world. In Chaco, approximately 2,000 tons of honey are produced per year and more than 25% of this production is certified organic, which allows it to be marketed abroad, with the European Union currently being the largest buyer.
Between 2019 and 2020, approximately 192,500 kilos of organic honey were obtained for export, equivalent to 641 drums. Chaco leads this type of production in the country with 37% participation. It is exported to the European Union, but it is also certified for export to the United States.
Thinking of producers
The goal proposed by the Territorial Development and Environment Plan carried out by the Secretariat is that in the province the production of certified organic honey is increased by 30%, taking into account that this allows the product to be sold at a value of up to 40 % more than the price of conventional feed, which represents a real difference in the income of producers.
“Our objective is to strengthen the production processes and the entire beekeeping chain and continue to position it as one of the leading regional economies,” said Soneira, also highlighting the contribution of the ACERCA Development Cooperation Agency, which together with the provincial government, accompanies and provides technical support to local organizations.