Beekeeping; a sustainable and profitable project

Honey, pollen, propolis resin, bee nuclei and fertilized queens are the products that Paola Salgado has been producing and selling for eight years at Bioapicol, her beekeeping company located in the municipality of Silvania (Cundinamarca) and some apiaries in its surrounding municipalities such as Tibacuy, Granada and Fusagasugá.

Paola is a graduate of the Animal Science program at UCundinamarca, an achievement that allowed her to fulfill the dream she had since childhood in which agriculture and agricultural production systems were the protagonists.

“I started beekeeping out of curiosity and found in this activity a wonderful world where I became more and more passionate. This is a sustainable and profitable activity, which has allowed me to build my life project around it.”.

Bioapicol operates under a production system designed to promote rural development. Through environmentally sustainable beekeeping, they apply best practices to integrate environmental, genetic improvement, and sanitary factors, aiming to increase apiary productivity and obtain safe, high-quality bee products. A key differentiator in their honey and pollen products is the use of palynological analysis to identify floral origin.

“Additionally, we provide services such as technical assistance for the establishment and development of productive projects in beekeeping, basic courses in bee management, training in specific related topics, removal and relocation of swarms and nests established in urban and rural areas,” explained Paola.

Family, the environment, and contributing to the conservation of this endangered species motivate Paola every day to continue with her business, which one day began with five beehives in the municipality of Silvana, when she was still a student and beginning her training at UCundinamarca.

“When production began, I started to see a market opportunity due to unmet demand, which motivated me to define a brand, labels, and presentation for the different products. Initially, my production fell far short, preventing me from meeting demand and opening new markets. This situation led me to approach SENA in 2018 to begin the process with the Emprender Fund. I spent all of 2018 and part of 2019 there. I worked on product formulation, applied to the call for proposals at the end of 2019, and was awarded funding in mid-2020. I am currently in the process of loan forgiveness.”.

Paola affirmed that being a graduate of the University of Cundinamarca has allowed her to manage her production using technical and scientific knowledge. Her thesis, which received honors, focused on the impact of insecticides on bees, a major global problem.

Currently, the graduate supports research work related to bees at UCundinamarca, thus contributing her experience to new generations that are in favor of the conservation of the species.

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