Balparmak Provides Training on Value-Added Bee Products for Women Beekeepers

Balparmak Beekeeping Academy encouraged female beekeepers to produce royal jelly, propolis and pollen through training organized on International Women's Day, 8 March. Experts emphasized that women possess significant advantages in the production of high-value bee products thanks to their manual skills and meticulousness.

Bee products production training for female beekeepers
Balparmak Beekeeping Academy, which aims to bring female and young beekeepers into the sector, organized "Bee Products Production" training for female beekeepers on the occasion of International Women's Day, 8 March. The program held at Balparmak Campus was attended by more than 80 female beekeepers.

Emel Damarlı noted that beekeeping in Turkey is largely focused on honey production, and said that production of high-value-added products such as royal jelly, pollen and propolis should be increased. Damarlı stated: "Our country has a very rich flora for beekeeping. We welcome quality bee products produced by our female beekeepers."

Great potential in royal jelly and other bee products
Banu Yücel, Faculty Member at Ege University Faculty of Agriculture, noted that the use of bee products is rapidly increasing in many areas such as nutrition, food supplements, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Yücel, drawing attention to the particularly high economic value of royal jelly, made the following assessment:

"Turning to the production of royal jelly, propolis and pollen alongside honey increases producers' income while reducing their economic risks. Production of these products requires labour and meticulousness. Our female producers have great potential in this area."

Production recommendations for female beekeepers
Within the scope of the training, some important points to be observed in bee products production were communicated to female beekeepers. Experts drew attention to the importance of hygiene in production and made the following recommendations:

Hives used in winter should not be used during the production period and should be disinfected before spring

-Spare gloves, masks and special boots should be used for hygiene in the apiary

-Colony development, feeding and queen bee status should be regularly recorded

-In honey harvesting, combs should be sealed before extraction and immature honey should not be extracted

While Turkey ranks among the top ten countries in world honey production, it aims to increase production capacity in high-value-added bee products such as royal jelly, pollen and propolis. Experts note that female beekeepers can take on a stronger role in the sector during this process.