The strides made by beekeepers in recent years have been shattered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fiji Beekeepers Association President, Nilesh Kumar says they have suffered massive losses and more work is needed to revive the industry.

The industry has progressed significantly pre-pandemic, making them competitive in the local and international markets.

Fiji Beekeepers Association President, Nilesh Kumar

Kumar says despite the major downturn, our beekeepers are optimistic that demand will increase and sales will pick up after receiving a grant from the US Embassy this morning.

“We will be doing advance training where they’ll be learning skills like queen breeding and we’ll be also doing value-added training where we encourage women participation.”

Meanwhile, this is the second consecutive year that the US Embassy is providing the economic recovery grants to civil society organizations.

[Source: Twitter]

US Embassy’s Regional Public Affairs Officer, Stephanie Fitzmaurice says these organizations will focus on innovative solutions to help communities bounce back from the pandemic.

“Four organizations can begin implementing their projects over the next few months and many of them are involved in training, capacity building in their communities. So that should really have a real tangible impact on people’s lives.”

A total of $258, 615 will be shared by three organizations in Fiji and one in Tonga.