IN an effort to push agriculture in Linden, the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN), is hosting an entrepreneurial and apiculture training targeting 30 Lindeners.

After the two-week training, the participants will benefit from start-up loans for their beekeeping businesses. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LEN, Tanniza Gasper, related on Wednesday that each participant will use the loan to purchase four hives.

While the company was able to solicit assistance from a donor who will be providing four bee hives, these will be presented to four outstanding participants who will automatically get five hives. The training will commence in the third week of June. The first week will focus on becoming a successful entrepreneur, by managing resources to develop a viable business. The second week will focus on the bee-keeping aspect, which will see participants garnering theoretical and practical knowledge, on maintaining honey bees.

A beekeeper, or apiarist is someone who keeps bees for the purpose of collecting their honey and other products that are produced by the hive such as propolis, beeswax and royal jelly; or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. In Guyana, beekeeping is a growing form of agriculture, as there is an increased demand for locally produced honey.
Gaining cognisance of this, has prompted LEN to get involved in beekeeping and to arouse the interest of youths in Linden in this regard. While LEN has been giving financial and technical support to persons involved in agriculture, there was need for training in apiculture, since it is a new frontier for many. Bee rearing is done on a four-month turn around and Gasper related that the participants can either rent extractors for their honey, or to become extractors themselves and more financial support can be considered, given the progress the participants might have made.

While LEN initially started off with the purpose of providing loans for either start -up or business expansion, in 2018, the company launched a five-year strategic development plan, whereby it is creating a presence in various sectors, agriculture being one of them. The company has been sifting out potential clients interested in the various forms of agriculture, not only in Linden, but in the various outlying communities in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice). At an outreach at Rockstone, apiculture was one agriculture sub-sector for which residents had expressed interest in gaining financial assistance. For 2019, LEN was given a subvention of $200 M.