UK National Bee Inspector in Malta

Last October saw some tangible assistance being given to beekeepers in Malta and Gozo, through an EU programme co-financed by the EU and the Maltese Government. The beekeepers were offered not only technical assistance but also financial support.

All beekeepers were offered the possibility of familiarising themselves with the latest developments in beekeeping. Richard Ball, an apiculturist and the National Bee Inspector for the United Kingdom, was invited purposely to meet beekeepers for this purpose.

An entomologist by profession and holding a Ph.D. in Zoology, Dr David Mifsud heads the Apiculture Section within the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment (MRAE). He described the activities with enthusiasm: "It was a very intensive week stretching from October 9 to 16. During these eight days, Mr Ball gave daily three-hour lectures for which some 40 local beekeepers attended. We were very satisfied with the outcome as this amount represents about one-third of registered beekeepers."

Apart from providing lectures, Mr Ball also gave practical sessions at the Mdina Apiary which is the government's main apiary.

The EU programme envisaged to provided also financial assistance to counter beekeepers expenses especially in connection with the control of Varroa. This pest-mite was introduced in Malta in 1992. Losses were immense, and amounted to the death of about 80 per cent of all bees on the islands. Dr Mifsud explains that this drastic loss was mainly due to the fact that local beekeepers were totally unprepared for this sudden onset of unexpected disease. Prior to the introduction of Varroa, around 250 registered beekeepers were involved with a total of manageable colonies of around 7,000.

"The lectures were especially informative and tackled several different topics, from good management to disease recognition and exotic pests which can be a detriment to the Apiculture industry if accidentally introduced."

In order to be considered for the EU programme, the Apiculture Section within the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment (MRAE), which is the official entity as government support for the apiculture industry in Malta, had to present a thorough census of apiculture of the Maltese Islands in Brussels. This covered the period September 1, 2002 to August 31, 2003 and the finalised report was published in spring 2004, providing some highly interesting facts.

It was established that by September 1, 2003, there were 168 holdings engaged in apicultural activity. Of these 111 were in Malta, the other 57 in Gozo; 99 of the holdings had been active for over 10 years. A total of 1,939 hives were recorded, of which 1,320 produce honey, while 16 were used strictly for pollination purposes.

It was also confirmed that the northern district of Malta and Gozo and Comino are the most important with respect to honey production, with the highest concentration of colonies being established there. Only six beekeepers possess more than 50 beehives each, which total 362 colonies. During the period covered in this census, 13.9 tonnes of honey were produced in the Maltese Islands.

"The census was required as part of a larger EU census as financial assistance is given to individual countries according to the number of colonies present on the national territory. I must point out that honeybees are a traditional part of the Maltese landscape and bees are important pollinators of many horticultural crops and wild flora. Beekeeping in Malta also has a long and very rich history.

"Although at MRAE we try out best to establish extension work with beekeepers, providing advice in disease control and advisory programmes, there is always ample room for training in disease recognition and in the proper practice of colony maintenance and management. The presence of this British expert has surely been highly appreciated and it was a great boost to the local apicultural industry."