DOST 1, LGU Cervantes Boost Beekeeping Industry in Cervantes, Awards Honeybee Nucs to

10 Recipients
By: Laurine R. Sales

As an offshoot to the recently conducted Science and Technology caravan in the municipality
of Cervantes, the Department of Science and Technology Region 1 (DOST 1) thru its Ilocos Sur
Science and Technology Center (ISSTC), in partnership with the Local Government of Cervantes,
awards 12 honeybee nucs to 10 recipients in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur.
Before the awarding, the Local Government of Cervantes administered by Mayor Pablito
Benjamin P. Maggay ll, requested to the DOST for actual hands-on training on honeybee culture for
the people of the selected eight barangays in the municipality, particularly in Brgy. Aluling, Comillas
South, Concepcion, Dinwede, Libang, Malaya, Pilipil, and San Juan. Last July 14-15, 2020, a training
on honeybee culture was held at the Liquid Gold Honeybee Farm, Macabiag, Sinait, Ilocos Sur with
10 participants. Prof. Maxima C. lnes, the owner of the Liquid Gold Farm, served as the resource
person and consultant on the said endeavor.
The training was a great avenue for the recipients to learn the necessary skills in beekeeping,
to further enhance their honey business trading. This includes identifying different bees, types of
colonies, proper handling of bees and the colonies, honey harvesting, and how to package and
correctly label the raw honey.
During the awarding last July 22, 2020, Mayor Maggay expressed his earnest gratitude to the
DOST in fulfilling his request to help its constituents not only in providing their income-generating
livelihood but also in harnessing the abundant gift of nature through a sustainable source of honey
production in the locality.
Mr. Ramon S. Sumabat, Ilocos Sur Science and Technology Director, guaranteed that the
DOST is in full support of the started livelihood and encouraged the recipients of honeybee nucs to
establish an association to promote cooperation and inclusive growth among beekeepers. He
emphasized the importance of sustaining the excellent quality of honey (pure) and the possibility of
issuing “Seal of Excellence” by the LGU to qualified honey producers. This will significantly enhance
the marketability and competitiveness of their product, he added.
Mr. Joel Liniasan, one of the recipients of honeybee nucs, also expressed his thanks to the
DOST and LGU for providing them livelihood and its commitment towards sustainable honey
production in Cervantes.
Further, monitoring of the honeybee nuc recipients was conducted on September 2-3, 2020,
in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur. The monitoring team was spearheaded by the Provincial Director Sumabat
together with Prof. Maxima C. lnes. They noticed significant increases in the bee population, which
prompted the keepers to add more frames from the original five frames inside the nuc boxes. Thus, the
team recommended the recipients to prepare additional boxes for colony expansions expected
sometime in October or November.
DOST 1 is set to provide assistance to ELCAC communities through technology
interventions and sustainable income-generating opportunities. The Municipality of Cervantes,
particularly in the selected eight barangays, are identified by the National Task Force to End Local
Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as conflict-vulnerable communities in Ilocos Sur. The
municipality is also included in the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) - Magnificent Magic
7 Program. Thus, the provided honeybee colonies in Cervantes is one of the successful projects of the
DOST 1 through its involvement in the ELCAC program.
Prepared by: Noted by:
Received via email Received via email

LAURINE R. SALES RAMON S. SUMABAT

Project Assistant II Provincial S&T Director, Ilocos Sur

Reviewed by: Reviewed by:

Edited 09/18/2020

ADRIENNE MARGAUX Q. DOLORES RACQUEL M. ESPIRITU

Project Assistant II ARD – Technical Services

Approved by:

DR. ARMANDO Q. GANAL

Regional Director
Edited copy with mark-ups:

As an offshoot to the recently conducted Science and Technology caravan in the municipality
of Cervantes, the Department of Science and Technology Region 1 (DOST 1) thru its Ilocos Sur
Science and Technology Center (ISSTC), in partnership with the Local Government of Cervantes,
awards 12 honeybee nucs to 10 recipients in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur.
Before the awarding, the Local Government of Cervantes administered by Mayor Pablito
Benjamin P. Maggay ll, requested to the DOST for an actual hands-on training on honeybee culture
for the people of the selected eight barangays in the Municipalitymunicipality, particularly in Brgy.
Aluling, Comillas South, Concepcion, Dinwede, Libang, Malaya, Pilipil, and San Juan. Last July 14-
15, 2020, a training on honeybee culture was held at the Liquid Gold Honeybee Farm, Macabiag,
Sinait, llocos Ilocos Sur with 10 participants. Prof. Maxima C. lnes, the owner of the Liquid Gold
Farm, served as the resource person and consultant on the said endeavor.
The training was a great avenue for the recipients to learn the necessary skills in beekeeping ,
enable them to further enhance their honey business trading. This includes, identification
ofidentifying different bees, types of colonies, proper handling of bees and the colonies, honey
harvesting, and how to package and properly correctly label the raw honey.
During the awarding last July 22, 2020, Mayor Maggay expressed his earnest gratitude to the
DOST in fulfilling his request to help its constituents not only in providing their income income-
generating livelihood but also in harnessing the abundant gift of nature through a sustainable source of
honey production in the locality.
Mr. Ramon S. Sumabat, Ilocos Sur Science and Technology Director, guaranteed that the
DOST is in full support on of the started livelihood and encouraged the recipients of honeybee nucs to
establish an association to promote cooperation and inclusive growth among beekeepers. He
emphasized the importance of sustaining the good excellent quality of honey (pure) and the
possibility of issuing “Seal of Excellence” by the LGU to qualified honey producers. This will greatly
significantly enhance the marketability and competitiveness of their product, he added.
Mr. Joel Liniasan, one of the recipients of honeybee nucs, also expressed his thanks to the
DOST and LGU for providing them livelihood and its commitment towards sustainable honey
production in Cervantes.
Further, monitoring of the honeybee nuc recipients was conducted on September 2-3, 2020,
in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur. The monitoring team was spearheaded by the Provincial Director Sumabat
together with Prof. Maxima C. lnes. They noticed that there were significant increases in the bee
population, which prompted the keepers to add more frames from the original 5 five frames inside the
nuc boxes. Thus, the team recommended the recipients to prepare additional boxes for colony
expansions expected sometime in October or November.
DOST 1 is set to provide assistance to ELCAC communities through technology
interventions and sustainable income income-generating opportunities. The Municipality of
Cervantes, particularly in the selected eight barangays, are identified by the National Task Force to
End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as conflict-vulnerable communities in Ilocos
Sur. Also, the municipality is The municipality is also included in the National Anti-Poverty
Commission (NAPC) - Magnificent Magic 7 Program. Thus, the provided honeybee colonies in
Cervantes is one of the successful projects of the DOST 1 through its involvement in the ELCAC
program.