The Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA) formerly the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College (CSSAC), as it name suggests, is an institution dedicated to research and higher education in agriculture. It runs the...
moreThe Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA) formerly the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College (CSSAC), as it name suggests, is an institution dedicated to research and higher education in agriculture. It runs the Regional Apiculture Center (RAC) for Bicol and it is located in the municipality of Pili, Province of Camarines Sur, in the southeast of Luzon. Its sole mandate is to promote beekeeping technology emphasizing on keeping stingless bees, tagged as Meliponiculture.
The RAC for Bicol is manned by a multidisciplinary team of dedicated faculty members involved on researches dealing with the biology and culture of the stingless bee species, Tetragonula biroi. Together with small holders of local communities a technological package was developed to keep these bees for their economic exploration, using halved coconut shells as the bee’s nesting cavity, with innovations introduced. In addition, learner-friendly methods for the extraction of feral stingless bee colonies from the forest, for colony establishment and splitting, and the production as well as utilization of stingless bee products, among others are included in the package. It is characterized for its very low capital and labour-time investment requirement suitable for marginalized farmers.
RAC for Bicol at CBSUA offers facilities and installations for the communal use of local beekeepers, like rooms for seminars and discussions, colonies for hands-on training, an interpretation center and a honey press extractor. Extension services and technical assistance to beekeepers in the region included assistance to beekeepers in marketing and promoting their products and meliponaries. Tangible outputs have been presented in scientific forums locally and internationally, published in reputable journals. Moreover, audio-visual materials are available both print and audio on beekeeping activities.
Increasingly among graduate and undergraduate students in research possibilities to add value to the products obtained from the economic exploration of T. biroi. Students gain
appreciation for these bees thereby encouraging them to plunge into an enterprise like keeping stingless bees. To date, researches are being done by students and faculty members of CBSUA so as to strengthen the technology on stingless bees. On a lighter note, its research outputs have won awards in the local and regional levels.
