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I was surprised at the lack of information on Africanized bees from much of Latin America, with only Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina contributing at the South African Apimondia meeting.
The strong Argentinian presence at the South African Apimondia was apparent to even the most casual visitor. The country barely failed to win approval to host the 2005 meeting, but no doubt will be a strong candidate for the 2007 event. There is little doubt that Argentina will continue to be a powerhouse in apiculture for a long time to come in spite of the uncertain economic conditions the country now faces.
No formal agricultural extension service exists in Argentina as does in the United States. In fact, a clear disassociation exists between the formal educational sector (university) and small-scale producers. A recent collaboration, however, between university researchers at La Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias de la Universidad National del Centro (UNCPBA) and others such as the Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la Universidad National de Mar del Plata, as well as the ministry of social development has resulted in what is called the. Integrated Apicultural Development Project or PROAPI as showcased in South Africa. This is described as an extension network that is particularly necessary at this time, given the fact that small honey producers are considered an important aspect of the development process in Argentina. Paralleling to an extent the Cooperative Extension Service model in the U.S., the network formally recognizes the role of universities and places them in the context of doing research as well as training beekeepers.
Rather like the Master Beekeeper programs In some states, the program has a "train the trainer" approach, where students agree to return to their home base and teach what they've learned. There are two levels. The second one is composed of two years of university education. Much of the program is based on electronic communication via ApiNetLA (formerly APINET) on the World Wide Web <http:// www.inta.gov.ar/apinet/la/ index.htm>. I reviewed this site in my Bee Culture Digital Age Column in May 2000 <http://bee.airoot.com/ beeculture/digital/2000/ column21.htm>. Unfortunately, many of the links published in that article have been modified. But the home page still directs the user to applicable sections...