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.