Mayabeque, Cuba: Experts from Mayabeque agree that the inclusion of meliponiculture in local development projects is feasible and necessary due to the value of its products for export in various territories of the country.
According to the professors of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, of the Agrarian University of Havana, based in Mayabeque, Walberto Lóriga Peña and Jorge Demedio Lorenzo, the wild populations of the Meliponabeecheii or earth bee make it possible to take advantage of its numerous benefits.
These can be contemplated in productive chains and in the restoration of ecosystems, according to the professors, authors of the Meliponiculture Manual, published by the Editorial Seal of the Environment Agency.
They explain that the particularities of the meliponicos include the lack of a functional stinger (they do not sting) and due to their effective action as pollinators, the possibilities they have of inserting themselves in the agro-systems and productive forms existing in the nation are ample.
For them, the latter can be achieved on a small, medium or large scale in urban and rural settings, where their role in pollination directed at cultivars of economic importance is barely exploited.
The phenomenon occurs despite its influence on agricultural yields in quantity and quality, although food production, import substitution and the creation of new exportable products are of the utmost priority, especially due to the high prices of honey in the international market.