LOCAL honey producers are currently receiving  expert training on how to organise their operations so they can achieve higher levels of production.

The trainer is Mrs. Amy Weeks, Master Beekeeper in  the State of Louisiana,  United States of  America.
Mrs. Weeks is in Guyana at the invitation of the local chapter of Partners of the Americas (POA)  as part of their farmer-to-farmer training  programme.
Mr. Kelvin Craig, Guyana  Coordinator of the POA,  disclosed on Monday that Mrs. Weeks is the President of Hill Country Beekeepers Association and a board member of the Louisiana State Beekeepers Association as well as the  owner/operator of Beeline Apiary and My Favourite Honey Products.
On this training visit, Mrs. Weeks is accompanied by her husband Tim Weeks and their son Pistol, both of whom are beekeepers  and who  support her in their  honey-production business in Louisiana.
Mr. Craig disclosed that the  Weeks family arrived  in Guyana on August 9th  last and are training local beekeepers in Hive Management including hive and frame construction, hive splitting, queen rearing, trapping wild swarms and honey extraction.
The programme  lasts until  August 20th, the day prior to their return home.
He disclosed that the  visiting beekeepers  have already had initial meetings with the Guyana Livestock Development Agency (GLDA), the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Guyana Apiculture Society (GAS).
They are working  closely with beekeepers of Mainstay/Whyaka, the Mangrove Reserve Producer Coop Society Limited and Trafalgar Union Community Development Council (CDC)  in partnership with representatives of the three collaborating agencies.
Mrs. Weeks will additionally  undertake some limited bee pest sampling for the benefit of GLDA and GAS.
This ‘Honeybee Health Survey’ is sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Honeybee Research Laboratories and University of Georgia.
On Monday August 19, 2013 at 1:00 pm, Mr and Mrs Weeks will be the main presenters at a workshop on beekeeping that will be held at the St. Stanislaus College Farm, 69 Sophia Backlands.
All beekeepers and interested persons may attend.
Partners of the Americas is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organisation with international offices in Washington, D.C
Craig disclosed that Partners of the Americas, which was founded in 1964,  links the U.S. with Latin American and Caribbean countries in partnerships that use the energy and skills of citizen volunteers, their institutions and communities to address shared concerns of social, economic and cultural development.
The local chapter in Guyana, linked with Mississippi, works on projects in diverse areas including health, reproductive rights, emergency preparedness, agriculture, and cultural and educational exchanges.