By Government Press Office | BELIZE
BELMOPAN, Belize – An aquaculture workshop was held Monday at the Tilapia Hatchery Center in Central Farm, Cayo District, for shrimp farmers; while the ministry of agriculture, food security and enterprise received a donation of 800 small hive beetle traps from the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA).
OIRSA
The donated traps were purchased from Australia and have a total value of US$3,637. This donation will assist bee farmers countrywide who are being affected by the small hive beetle, which is a scavenger and parasite of honeybee colonies.
The beetle Aethina tumida is native to Africa and was introduced to Belize in 2016, mainly by commercial movement of bees. Both adult and larval beetles feed on larvae, pollen, honey and bee brood. The adult female lays her eggs in the hive. The larvae hatch and feed on broods, pollen and honey, then leave the hive to pupate in the soil, where the adults hatch, then fly to look for new hives.
The handing over was conducted by OIRSA country representative, Fermin Blanco, and was received by Jose Abelardo Mai, minister of agriculture, food security and enterprise.
CEFAS
The workshop was facilitated by Grant Stentiford and Matthew Sanders, aquaculture experts from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), an agency under the department of environment, food and rural affairs in the United Kingdom.
CEFAS seeks national and international networking in areas of aquaculture and marine science, and is in Belize to help examine how the country can deal with issues related to development and future planning in aquaculture, fisheries and food security. The facilitators are a part of a UK delegation that is in country holding a series of workshops, meetings and seminars throughout the week to assist in sectors such as agriculture, mariculture, aquaculture and the environment. The UK delegation is to launch the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) funded under the UK’s Blue Planet Fund. They will continue to hold workshops and meetings as the linkages to explore projects beneficial to Belize.
Several participants from local shrimp farms and seaweed farms joined virtually in the workshop along with the representatives from the ministry of agriculture, food security and enterprise and the Tilapia Hatchery Center who were present.
