Organic Honey Production
Gran Chaco Biome
THE CHALLENGE
The Gran Chaco Americano is a large biome extending to four countries (Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil), covering approximately 1,000,000km2. It represents the second largest forest in Latin America following the Amazon rainforest, and the largest, dry forest in the world.
Carbon sequestration in this region is of global importance given the large surface covered by the forests.
The development of non-timber production from the sustainable use of forest biodiversity plays an important role in the survival of local communities and their economic benefit within a framework of conservation of this great biome.
Beekeeping is a key alternative for the socially inclusive conservation of native forests.
Native forests of the Gran Chaco have melliferous plants considered first-order melliferous flowers, and beekeepers have ancient beekeeping knowledge of floral resources for honey bees.
Scale up of organic beekeeping requires technical and financial innovations to expand both volume and destination of exports and to add value to production to get a better price per ton exported.
THE VALUE PROPORSAL
This nature-positive business model aims to promote large-scale production and high-value honey export (organic, Fairtrade, single-flower honeys, flavored products, and products with pharmacological properties) while contributing to protecting forests through the pollination functions of this activity and the development of an income opportunity for rural youth.
This model considers investments to increase the production capacity of organic, differentiated honey for export, to improve beekeeping expansion and genetics, the development of new high-value products and commercial expansion into different markets around the world.