BAHA: Beekeeping experts from around the world on Wednesday descended on the Kingdom to take part in an international honey forum.
The gathering, timed to coincide with Saudi Arabia’s 12th International Honey Festival being held in the southwestern region of Baha, focused on the medical and nutritional uses of the product.
Experts from Saudi Arabia, the US, Bulgaria, Australia, India, Ethiopia, and Arab countries including Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia, and Lebanon, were participating in the event.
Prof. Ahmed Alkhazim Al-Ghamdi, vice president of the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations (Apimondia) for the Middle East and the Arab world, and also chairman of Baha’s Beekeepers Association, said the forum would update delegates on the latest developments in beekeeping, skills in the rearing of queen bees, and other matters related to apiculture.
Public- and private-sector organizations were also represented at the event.
The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture highlighted its efforts to develop the beekeeping industry in the Kingdom and its current work to promote the breeding of bees.
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority also took part explaining its legislative and supervision role in the industry, while the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) held a workshop on granting loans to beekeepers and the mechanism and procedures for accessing ADF financial services.
Other attendees at the event included the Saudi Cooperative Societies Council, academics from Baha and King Saud University, in addition to the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
