Honey Fest 2026 opens today

The third Annual Honey Fest will open today on the lawns of the Ministry of Agriculture, bringing together more than 40 participants to showcase Guyana’s beekeeping industry, local honey products and emerging technologies in apiculture.
Themed “Next Generation Hives: Growing Guyana Through Green Apiculture,” the exhibition will begin at 12:00h and feature displays, demonstrations and activities aimed at promoting local honey production and encouraging greater participation in the sector.
Among the areas to be showcased are advances in hive design, protective equipment, honey harvesting, colony management and queen rearing. Participants will also explore opportunities to develop value-added products using beeswax, pollen and propolis.
A major feature of this year’s event will be demonstrations of smart hives, which use remote sensors to provide beekeepers with information about hive conditions through mobile devices.
The technology allows beekeepers to monitor their colonies and make timely management decisions to protect their health and improve honey production. It also supports traceability, which is important for product quality and hive security.
The exhibition will also highlight climate-resilient beekeeping practices to help producers respond to challenges such as excessive heat, prolonged drought and reduced availability of flowering plants.
The activities form part of the National Honey Production Expansion Programme, through which the Agriculture Ministry, in collaboration with the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), is working to strengthen the technical capacity of beekeepers and expand participation among women, young people and rural communities.
The programme provides training, extension services, modern equipment, queen-rearing facilities and support for improved honey extraction, processing and handling.
These interventions are intended to increase production, improve product consistency, strengthen the domestic supply and prepare local producers to access regional and international markets.
At the festival, participants will also have opportunities to engage agencies offering technical assistance and business support in areas such as processing, packaging, branding and marketing.

Honey competition & awards
Meanwhile, this year’s Honey Competition and Awards will recognise achievements across 10 categories, including Best Innovative Product, Best Commercial Presentation, Best Presentation of Chunk Combs, Darkest Honey, Lightest Honey and Best Honey.
Other awards will recognise the beekeeper with the highest output throughout the year, the Most Influential Beekeeper, New Entrant with Excellent and Persistent Performance, and the Youngest Beekeeper.
Youth participation will also feature through an Inter-School Cooking Competition organised by GLDA in collaboration with the Education Ministry.
The participating institutions are Queen’s College, St Joseph’s High School, Christ Church Secondary School, Buxton Practical Instruction Centre and Golden Grove Secondary School.
The programme will also include live performances by local artistes and a drone display after sunset.
In a release on the event, the Ministry said that this year’s festival places particular emphasis on climate-friendly production systems and the use of digital technology, in keeping with Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 and national digitalisation strategy.