BONTOC, Mountain Province – The Provincial Veterinarian Office (PVO), through the Province-led Agricultural Fisheries System (PAFES), opened a three-day basic and advanced training on Beekeeping at the Chico Breeze, Bontoc which will run from August 14-17, 2024.
The opening was attended by Community Affairs Officer June Pinayakan representing Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., Chantal S. Santowen representing Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member and Committee Chairman on Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Ezra Samson A. Gomez, Provincial Veterinarian Rodelio B. Bagawi who is also in charge of the Mountain Province Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Center (MPAFEC), and Agriculturist Faith C. Pec-ao with participants of the training from various municipalities of Mountain Province.
During the opening, Pinayakan, who relayed the message of the governor, said that the provincial government will always extend its support to all programs that will uplift the lives of the community and help in the shared development of the province.
In his welcome remarks, Bagawi expressed his joy for the participants’ interest to attend the training as Beekeeping has been selected as one of the top provincial commodities and is vital to helping protect and preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity of an area.
Bagawi also thanked the resource speakers for their time and effort.
National Apiculture Research Training and Development Institute Division Chief and University Research Associate Arvin C. Tuyan and Bee Pasture and Development Head and Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University Faculty Ison A. Calimpang were the speakers for the activity.
Moreover, according to Pec-ao, the training aims to enhance the extension services of the local government which is under the PAFES whose office is located at the MPAFEC.
“Beekeeping and training for the creation of apiaries (bee farm) is one of the priority commodities of the province and is a part of the comprehensive plan of the agriculture and fisheries extension system that is why we added it as one of the trainings this year for our participants,” Pec-ao said.
Meanwhile, Santowen, who relayed the message of Gomez, shared to the participants on how beekeeping is now a profitable agricultural business and that Mountain Province should keep pace with the other regions of the country who made a huge fortune in this industry.
“I believe that establishing a beekeeping industry in the different municipalities will lead to a long-term investment to uplift our local economy and preserve our biodiversity,” Gomez said. By Hail, MP
