 Agriculture on the move. Agriculture on the move. Agriculture on the move. Agriculture on the move. Agriculture on the move. Agriculture on the move. Hello again, St. Lucia, and welcome to the program, Agriculture Honored the Move. My name, of course, is Philip Sidney, your host. Today, our program is very interesting. We're talking about sweetness. We're talking about honey production, honey show. We talk about the awards coming from a honey show. Lots about honey today in this episode. With me is Mr. Richard Matthias, who is the Ionola apiculture collective president and is also our master beekeeper. Next to him, a young gentleman who is very interested in bees and is doing very well. That is Mr. Donson Stanley, who is our youngest beekeeper. I would say it's a Lucia today. Welcome gentlemen to the program. Matthias, why we back again another honey show, and of course we want to bigger power guy here, who has done so well. This honey show that you attended, tell us about it. What was it all about? Where was it held? And give us some background. We're here today to celebrate young Donson here. He won the medal of Ukraine at the UK national honey show. As part of our honey show in St. Lucia we always send the top entries, the best, the winning honey. The judges take them back to England and they enter them into the UK national honey show into the international categories. We were fortunate enough that young Donson submitted a fantastic jar of we call medium amber honey which he won in St. Lucia with and the same jar he won in St. Lucia went to the UK and it was entered into the international category and he won the beat out I think there was 38 other countries that entered that category and St. Lucia won the category. So we can now boast that we have this year the best honey in the world. Wow, wow, wow. And that stemmed from the honey show last year? That stemmed from the honey show last year. So how many entries we had from St. Lucia? I think there were probably about eight or nine entries. The second place was also St. Lucia. Young Jack Clark, Vincent Jack Clark from V4 He placed second in the same category and our organization I know the apiculture collective placed second in the category for entry from a charitable organization. Oh, wow, wow. St. Lucia was pride and joy at the honey show. Unfortunately there was none of us were there to be there in person. So hopefully at least now that we've got the win without being there at least we're going to defend it this year and hopefully through the ministry export St. Lucia hopefully we'll be able to some of us will be able to go there in person next year. And represent in person and hopefully bring back the bacon again. Wow, so who is Mr. Johnson? Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? I'm from Soufri and I'm from Diamond. So that's where we had some projects went wrong. We had mushroom project, we had beekeeping project so I was a little interested in the bees so while they start building the boxes I start asking them the questions about it to that white man named Scott so he introduced me to beekeeping so while I was working with him I worked like a couple of years, like one year then again the following year I'll say I'd like to try to start on my own and from there I end up getting one hive and from there I end up catching hives people calling me and get hives white hives. So I start putting them into boxes and from there I started working that from some of my boxes water into my boxes, I lose a couple of hives during that time but I do not give up from there I start back and then from there I catch a wildlife and that wildlife I catch it was a swarm that came into one of my boxes and from that it came to your box? Yeah, it came into my boxes and from that wildlife I start splitting it and that's when when I went to the food sunny show it was from the hotel I was making preparations but then again I was not really interested into it, but then again and Jasmine made me interested in the food sunny show which I went to the food sunny show which I ended up in the duck and bunny I came second in photography and I'm not sure but I think I get the next award again I get three awards in that year and the following year I say I'll have to step up Wow, wow, wow I'll have to step up the game, so You really step up Yeah, so I told my manager about it, he did not make a big fuss about it, but I say even when you don't make a fuss about it, then again I'll try to make a fuss about it I set my bottles home waiting for the show and then obviously they are successful How many hives do you have? Right now they have a total of 40 hives Wow, and in one location they are all spread out Exactly, in Diamond Ah, okay, and there are no houses around I mean, what they are Great, great, great, great So in terms of who taught you who really got you into it how did you get your training, who trained you? Right, Scott, I can say he put me like a starter then I met him from John Edward then once I go in the hive like this morning, I'll go to him throughout the day and ask him different questions like what I see, what I saw and then he'll give me like a little update when the next time when you go you have to do this you have to do that, so then again I take all these into considerations and I met with other beekeepers as well so that one will give you a certain thing that one will give you a different thing and now I take all his knowledge and I put it into consideration So the master beekeeper didn't give you any hand? So what's next for you? I mean, you have 30 hives right now So in terms of your marketing where do you sell your honey? Locals because a lot of people know me and they know I just produce good quality honey so then again I don't really have like a market so once I have it sometimes they will ask me like some 10 bottles, 5 bottles and I send something to them and they will have that amount to supply the honey So you're the only one in Sofra or are the others in Sofra? There are all the beekeepers in Sofra Okay, okay, okay So in terms of the I know there are various trees different varieties of trees what are the trees that you have within the area where you have your bees? They have oak plum they have cinnamon they have cashew they have red cedar, mahogany they have apricots they have five fingers they have mongoes So out of those which will you believe after your best honey? My best honey is a savonet Savonet? What do you say? No I agree with him 100% that's my favorite I don't think it really bloomed this year the savonet hasn't bloomed yet It's after the hurricane then again it was like the flowers didn't really bloom this year We're looking at climate change Where are we now with honey producers? I mean herring not enough honey on the market based on that there's supply and demand the cost a bit more now tell us about what's going on I think honey production is expanding there are a lot more beekeepers on the market however there's never enough what we need to look at is that you can't just look at honey as a sweetener honey is a medicinal product so it has more value than just putting sweetener in your tea or coffee or something like that as a flavoring in your food honey is medicine I really need to respect the product for what it really is I think more investment obviously to help apiculture grow the existing beekeepers fellas like Young Donaldson need support in the ways of buying more equipment more boxes, more frames, more foundation these are the things that existing beekeepers really need to push them forward to get more colonies it's not that we have the capacity the knowledge is there Young Donaldson has come from the blue and won a major award for the country so it's really we need to use as a catalyst to help solidify the existing beekeepers to give them what they need what additional resources they require so we can get more production going because obviously the price of wood has increased, the price of fuel has increased so any imports we have to get from North America or Europe costs significantly more and even if we have to try to produce it here there's still local costs that are going to impact the cost of production so I think it's very important that support your beekeeper support your local beekeepers the more you buy from them the more they're able to grow and the more they're able to provide you with a consistent product and it's very important this is a very challenging time for agriculture because there are moves in the region to liberalize the whole market and we really need to defend that and try to ensure that Caribbean OECS beekeeping is supported and stays 100% locally produced honey because we have something special in the Caribbean and we need to recognize that and I think I hope Young Donson winning this award serves as a catalyst not just for Saint Lucia but for all the other OECS islands as that we have a product a very special product that we need to protect our biodiversity and to protect our beekeepers because we can produce something that's first class and that can win that is recognizable across the globe and by Donson winning this award it has something new for Saint Lucia to market the Ministry of Tourism should embrace Donson and use that apiculture as a new avenue for marketing Saint Lucia so I'm really hoping that the powers of bee can see this opportunity invest in Donson invest in apiculture in Saint Lucia invest in the honey show because the honey show is a catalyst for all of this and I'm thankful for the support from the Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture Mr Prosper and Mr Phyllisier for their support because they've been behind us 100% Mr Romulus at Jeff he's been behind us from zero we'll do for a break stay tuned don't go away welcome to the world of OECS beekeepers where every journey begins with a single bee meet the dedicated individuals who bring the magic of honey to life each with their OECS tail to tell beekeeping is like a dance with nature and the honey show is our grand performance it's a journey of patience with rewards step into the tapestry of the OECS Honey Show where honey becomes artistry from every corner of the OECS honey is a canvas we beekeepers are loved every OECS beekeeper has a story to tell and every story is a thread in the tapestry of OECS beekeeping join us at the 2023 OECS Honey Show where beekeepers from across the OECS lead dreams into reality we invite you to taste the love and dedication that goes into every jar of honey we bring the bee's magic to life one hive at a time at the honey show we showcase the tapestry of flavours and colours woven from our hives from hive to heart an OECS journey beyond taste welcome back to the program culture on the move of course we have the master beekeeper Mathias also we have Mr. Donson standing with us here who is the youngest beekeeper on island so far but so far he looks very young he has done very very well he has brought us an award to St. Lucia again so do you want a medal or trophy give us some guidance it's a trophy the history the national honey show in London is 100 years this year so the honey show has been running for 100 years since 1923 so this year they celebrated 100 years of existence and about 10 or 15 years ago the beekeeping brothers of Ukraine is the apiculture group of Ukraine visited the national honey show and they were so impressed that they donated a number of medals and the medals obviously have run out and in commemoration of the conflict that's happening right now in the Ukraine they've created a special award which is a replica of these medals encased in glass glass replica of it and it has the year underneath it and it's name engraved on it so this is as an incommemoration of the Ukrainian obviously the conflict in Ukraine and the UK honey show wanted to celebrate that and they created this special award for the 100th anniversary so it's actually not only this is the 100th anniversary of the UK national honey show this is the first time they've had this category they've run this special category for the 100th year anniversary so not only has Johnson won at a very auspicious time to win it it marks many occasions many things for many persons at the same time so it's really a big win for Johnson and a big win for St. Lucia at the same time definitely moving forward what's your encouragement for young beekeepers like you who do not know about beekeeping what do you do to assist them and bring them into the food the only thing you see once I get in handy to harvest then again you'll see people willing to help you but then again you need the training following to get to that point so if I was going to do my hive inspections if they can come with me as well I can teach them the basics and then from there you can move forward but once you go on to harvest you can get the amount of people but apart from that apart from the training maybe you can come in here it's a bit costly to get a beginner in terms of material to start off with what's the basic cost for a starter I think before you spend money on buying equipment the first thing someone should do is do some training shadow and existing beekeeper for a little bit and then from there when you get your feet wet and you think you want to do this then start to spend some money because for you to get your first hive with your bees and the equipment and everything you need just to have the bees it's going to cost you somewhere between seven and eight hundred dollars so beekeeping is not a cheap business even if you manufacture it yourself you still have to buy the wood you still have to invest time to make the boxes so you want to budget somewhere between seven and eight hundred dollars for your first hive and from time you get the ball rolling you should be able to develop well but if you want to learn we have the online program at our website so you can sign up for the I&O the Jeff I&O apiculture beekeeping program online it costs you like 60 bucks 120 US dollars and you could eight week program for the paces that knowledge wise and refer to some practical classes for that small amount of money I know somebody is very happy I know he is smiling now and he is watching the program Giles Giles of course good for you you have done well in that business to fund that program over the years and you are still funding it so power to you moving forward and I heard it going to OECS now tell us about it this year we have through working with the Ministry of Agriculture we have been able to get permission to allow our brothers and sisters from OECS territories to join in with us in the competition this year so we have working with the secretary director general Dr. Jules he has helped us as well so they are facilitating for two members from each country to come down to the honey show and these persons will be the custodians of the entries from each country so at present we are looking we have got confirmed from St. Vincent the Grenadines Dominica St. Kitts and Nevis Antigua and Barbuda there should be some entries coming from Grenada as well so we are really trying to really rally around Donson's win making an OECS competition and I think it will help unify the beekeepers across the region because everybody is under a little pressure everybody is motivation and I think we could use Donson's win as a motivation for young people across the region because some of the problems we have in St. Lucia other islands have it as too and we need to motivate our young people and I think apiculture you can learn discipline consistency and if you win it for the long run you can create a product that can go anywhere in the world where is it going to be held in St. Lucia? in St. Lucia this year this year is going to be a wonderful event it's the 8th, 9th and 10th of December 9th and 10th 3 days so the first two days we are going to be in the Castries Town Hall and Constitution Park so we are going to have lots of booths people selling honey, arts and crafts and so forth in Constitution Park for the first two days and inside obviously in Town Hall itself in the auditorium we will have the actual entries that have entered into the competition on display for people to see and observe and maybe taste some samples and so forth on the final day the Sunday we are having a back at IJY Marina as part of the ARC celebrations so it's a great opportunity not only for our OECS visitors to see a little bit of the country see a little bit of St. Lucia at the same time so we will have a prize giving in our presentation at the Marina so we will have the morning this honey will be on display like last time you can mingle talk to beekeepers get a feel for it and then we will start our presentation probably just a little after lunch we will have the cocktail competition from St. Lucia Distillers this year we will have a lot of cocktails a lot of cocktails a lot of guys participating and the prize money is increased I think it's $1000 plus a prize hamper for first, second and third place from St. Lucia Distillers I think the cocktail competition is going to be amazing this year so you got to mix for those of you who don't know you got to make a cocktail that incorporates honey as part of the ingredients so I'm really looking forward to that I'm looking forward to the baked goods people that make their own cakes and stuff like that that's going to be a big show as well hopefully and of course our honey producers to see we will have guys from other islands will have our St. Lucia honey on display as well so this year you know the name of the game is we have to make the double header you have to become you have to win a home you have to win the OECS trophy now alright so it's really going to create that comradery and competitiveness amongst not just the St. Lucia beekeepers but across the OECS it's matnik politics matnik the guys from matnik we we have invited them I'm not sure we didn't get permission for them to enter bring the honey into our our space yet because they are part of the OECS but they're not quite part of the OECS so to speak because of the technicality it might not be possible but I will still speak to maybe powers of bee and I will ask if we can get an exemption for them as well because any honey that come in they have to return with the honey so it's not like the honey is going to be staying here so if we can get that matnik and brothers to actually participate I think it would be total but I know our brothers and sisters from OECS islands would definitely be participating and I think the invitation for the guys has been extended to visit and see maybe next year we can have them to enter the competition as well and be one Caribbean I think that's really what we need but to me I am looking at the actual marketing within the OECS I know the phytocentric activities are a bit rough but in terms of selling to the other islands can we do that? I know we cannot take it but can St. Lucia sell to Dominica? Yes we can so it's also a great opportunity you see one of the problems that I struggle with is that St. Lucia is the last bastion of hope Trinidad was the other bastion of hope where you were not allowed to bring any honey into these countries but from pressure from different pressures when people wanted to bring honey into Trinidad and well back and forth but the bottom line is that you've got a lot of OECS countries that import honey from North America this is not a good thing because you know what you're getting and then the honey is not the primary product for the producers in America the depollination services so they're really dumping the product on the market at a very cheap price where we beekeepers in the Caribbean are producing a quality a seasonal product that has medicinal value it's not heated it's not pasteurized it's not irradiated it's natural from the hive to the bottle to the housewife's death Where are judges coming from? Judges are coming from the UK from the same UK national honey show Sue Carter and Bill Williams they've had years of experience as judges for you to be a judge in the UK they've competed in at least 100 competitions and placed first, second or third so they really know what they're talking about because they've done the do already so we have two first class they've been with us for the last three years so this year will be their last year judging our competition and then we'll rotate and have two new judges coming from the UK as of 2024 so there's no bias and it's fully transparent so this is really I really always see us coming on board this year I think it's going to be a really great competition and I think it's a real sign for making St Lucia the epicenter of apiculture in the Caribbean and I think that's what we really want to have we've got young Dunstan when he's placing for us bringing the trophy home for us he'll be presenting his trophy they're bringing it down for him they're bringing the trophy down for him I wanted to display it here he hasn't received it yet so we'll have to do a special session when the judges come but they'll be bringing his trophy from the UK to St Lucia in December and we'll do a big presentation for him at the honey show on a Sunday I hopefully might win this one as well but yeah double warm here I'm hoping that Johansson it's going to be a great day for you receiving your award and also hopefully at this competition if you win again the OECS award double warm here because I already said it in the point funding came from Jeff Jeff finally came from Jeff Ministry of Agriculture OECS secretariat we have a lot of sponsors Republic Bank St Lucia Distillers Coxson Company Massey Stores of course Eka a lot a lot British High Commission Solution National Conservation Fund so we have a lot of sponsors I apologize if I haven't remembered everybody it means this activity is heavily sponsored yes it needs to be it needs to be and there's a lot of there's a lot of interest and I think honey one of the things that everybody has uniqueness and I think the more we can put efforts behind an activity of this and get younger beekeepers like Donson involved I think it's really good and I also want to commend Mrs. Tribescoff and the team down there for having a beekeeping program not many hotels go that direction once again you know our leader in the hospitality sector Mrs. Tribescoff we saw the need for that and look at that you look where you are today well gentlemen I want to thank you for being here welcome to be under the program and I wish you success Donson and you have won already so power to you and success for the upcoming event and I know you will put your best foot forward Matias again thank you again the master beekeeper I wish you success again thank you thank you for being the program and remember agriculture is our business eat fresh St. Lucia's Best I'm Philip Sidney goodbye