Silkworms, honeybees, and cochineal scale insects fall under the category of beneficial insects. Sericulture, apiculture (beekeeping) and cochineal culture create employment and diverse income generating opportunities in rural areas of developing countries.

Sericulture

Cocoon and raw silk production is a promising activity for small-scale farmers to earn additional income. Over the past ten years, FAO has executed more than 20 sericulture projects in developing countries. One of the major obstacles faced in establishing sericulture industries is the difficulty in finding relevant technical information. To overcome this problem, FAO has developed a document entitled "Illustrated Technical Guide for Production of Silkworm Eggs and Cocoons", which will be found useful by technicians, extension workers and sericulture farmers. The document covers a range of topics on the subject, including mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing and silk processing.

The service has also produced a technical guide on sericulture

To request a copy please click here

AGS-registry@fao.org or order

Publications-Sales@fao.org

Apiculture

Honey, beeswax, pollen, propolis and a variety of other products can be obtained through beekeeping. In addition, honeybees are ardent pollinators for crops, trees and other wild plants. FAO has been involved in executing more than 40 apiculture projects over the last 10 years. Areas of work include apiary management, disease and pest control and processing of honey and by-products.

Controlling diseases and pests of honeybees is one of the most challenging tasks in improving the quality of honey and honeybee products. The technical report "Honeybee Diseases and Pests: a Practical Guide" was published in 2006. The Service has been actively involved in conducting training courses through field projects (UNDP, TCP and Trust Fund projects) and has published several training manuals, along with slides and demonstration videos for field training in over 50 countries.
An Agricultural and Food Engineering Technical Report on Honeybee Diseases and Pests has been published. Please click here

Cochineal culture

Cochineal is a material obtained from cochineal scale insects (or wood lice). It is a raw material for making carmine, an edible natural colorant. It can be produced through culturing cochineal scale insects, especially the cactus scale insect Dactylopius coccus, on a cactus species Opuntia cochinellifera. Cochineal culture is an alternative income generating activity for farmers in arid and semi-arid developing countries. A CD (in Spanish) entitled "Cochineal: Natural Edible Colorant from Cactus Scale" covers the biology, production, processing and utilization of cochineal, is available upon request. To request a copy please click here AGS-registry@fao.org