Agricultural Innovations Inc.

Participants inaugurate the First Bolivian Apiculture Congress

For the past ten years, Bolivian apiculture has enjoyed significant growth thanks to an ideal climate and vast forested areas that are well suited to apiculture. Now is the time to change the economic potential of apiculture into a reality. This change is now occurring thanks to the initiative of ADAPICRUZ (Apiculture Association of the Eastern City of Santa Cruz). The Association, with a little money and a lot of hard work, brought together stakeholders from Bolivia, along with professionals from Argentina and Chile (who were extremely professional and open with their knowledge) for the first annual Bolivian Apiculture Congress.

We discussed various technical themes at the Congress. Most notable was a lively discussion on the benefits of the hive, with a special focus on apitherapy. This discussion was complemented by Professor Nelson Rolandi Casali's presentation on different apitherapeutic recipes and their preparation.

Unfortunately, this Congress was held without the necessary participation of national organizations. It is necessary that we continue to organize future meetings amongst stakeholders in the field of apiculture, so that we can build the foundation for a Bolivian Beekeeping Federation. Such a Federation will serve as a forum to facilitate collaboration with national and international organizations involved in apiculture. As agreed upon by the Congress, this task will now fall to an internal committee composed of representatives from six of Bolivia's nine departments.

The Congress has set into motion important actions within different beekeeping organizations throughout Bolivia with the hope of developing further opportunties, particularly in the area of job creation: in agroindustries who require pollinating agents, in the area of health care and family nutrition, in veterinary medicine, and in environmental conservation. In this way we hope to create a lasting legacy for all those who enjoy the products and information generated by the beekeeping community.

No doubt, this will be an enormous challenge; but the formation of a national Federation will allow the interchange of knowledge, ideas, and experiences which we will then transform into real world projects. The end result will be an improvement in our quality of life. In this way, we will be able to move forward as a nation.