DILIMAN, Quezon City—With the importance of bees in agriculture and food supply, beekeeping expert Edilee Rosales encouraged more Filipinos to engage in this venture during the first free seminar of the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) this year.

Rosales, owner and general manager of Milea Bee Farm, talked about stingless beekeeping in particular, as well as types of honey-producing bees in the Philippines, maintenance of the beehive, and harvesting of honey.

“When culturing bees, you are also encouraged to plant more and various kinds of crops in your farm so that bees will have many sources of food,” she remarked.

Rosales stressed that beekeeping is a sustainable and replicable venture when it comes to integrated farming. Aside from this, beekeeping or honeybee culture can also produce nutritious and medicinal products.

Milea Bee Farm in Lipa, Batangas is one of the farms dedicated to the propagation and care of various species of honey-producing bees. As an ATI-certified Learning Site for Organic Agriculture, Milea Bee Farm has effectively mastered the technology of honeybee culture.

After learning the importance of beekeeping, Ervin Alcaraz of Parañaque was inspired to try out this enterprise.

“The free seminar was very informative. I learned a lot. I will try the beekeeping venture once I have my own farm,” the free seminar newbie said.

Around 230 agriculture enthusiasts from Metro Manila and nearby provinces joined the first of the free seminar series for this year. This was held last January 24, 2020 at the ATI Rural Development and Education Center.

Through the free seminars, ATI aims to capacitate farmers, fishers, and the general public to adopt innovative, sustainable, and productive technologies in agriculture. For the next event on February 21, experts will talk about plant propagation and nursery management.

The free seminars are open to all interested individuals. More details are available at www.facebook.com/ATIinteractive/.